Hi no Ishi
by Yukihana Hisako
Summary: As Orochimaru threatens to topple Konoha, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke are becoming the leaders of their generation. The question is, will they survive the war or end up like the previous Sannin? AU at the Chuunin Exams, FemNaru. Team 7 centric.
1. Scroll 1, Chapter 1: Fallen Leaves

Hi no Ishi, Scroll One: Kannabi

Full Summary: As Orochimaru and his allies threaten to topple Konoha, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke are becoming the leaders of their generation. The question is, will they survive the Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen or end up like the previous Sannin did - broken? AU diverging at the chuunin exams. FemNaru because I can. Team 7-centric.

A/N: Hello all! This is a little something that sprouted in my head. Blame the random plot/dust bunnies running rampant in there. Also, a few warnings before I continue: I use a lot of Japanese, so the glossary at the end of each chapter is likely to be pretty long. There will also most likely be large amounts of swearing in later chapters as well as dark themes/extreme angst. If it is requested that this story be put to an "M" rating, I will do so. This starts the day of the team assignments; Naruto passed the fist genin test for reasons that will be explained later. This chapter is also a test drive to decide if I should continue writing this or not. Oh, and I'm looking for a beta reader. I think that's it...?

Disclaimer: If you knew I didn't own Naruto, give yourself a cookie. If you didn't, good luck in life. You'll need it.

Edited 2/19/11

Flames to ashes, diamonds to dust,

All things go as they must.

A keen blade glows silver in the night,

Its bloodthirsty edge ever ready for a fight.

Chapter One: Fallen Leaves

_A seven-year-old Uzumaki Naruto struggled to calm her frantic breathing as nervous sweat beaded above her blonde eyebrows. The scent of blood permeated the air, adding to the ominous aura of the destroyed Uchiha Compound. Buildings were burning, and a few were alight with unnatural black flame. The whole scene was eerie, but the one Naruto was watching was even more disturbing._

_ Uchiha Itachi, Naruto's adoptive older brother, had just massacred his entire clan and killed his mother, Mikoto, in front of his younger brother, Sasuke. The blonde girl had been on her way to visit Itachi just like any other day when her oversensitive nose had caught the metallic scent of blood. Being naturally curious like any other seven-year-old, she had quickly trotted over to the source of the smell. Naruto stared numbly at the scene in front of her; Sasuke was trembling against a wall of the compound while Itachi was standing a few feet in front of his brother, his face blank and empty. "Onii-san…w-why?" Sasuke stuttered out._

_ "…To test my capacity," Itachi replied bluntly. "That is all."_

_ Tears prickled at the edges of Naruto's crystalline blue eyes. _'Itachi-nii-san…' _her brain managed to think as shock began to enter her system. '_Why would you do this?'_ Why would kind, caring, selfless Uchiha Itachi do something so absolutely _horrible? 'Why?'

_Naruto wasn't coherent enough to stifle the sob that wracked her whole body. There was so much blood…bodies were lying everywhere. So much needless death. Countless lives, snuffed out by somebody she had once admired and looked up to as family. _'Is this…is this what happens when you trust somebody? Does it always end like this?' _wondered Naruto. _'The teachers at the Academy said to be careful of who you trust, but…Itachi-nii-san is a Konoha ANBU, right? One of Hokage-jiji's most loyal soldiers. Then why…why would he..? Is it really so easy for people to create lies like this? Was that kind Itachi-nii-san I knew just a lie?'

_Naruto froze as Itachi's eyes, crimson with the Sharingan, surveyed the corner she was hiding behind. _'Did he hear me?' _she panicked. Naruto swallowed nervously as the horrid helplessness and smothering darkness that was fear overran her system. Itachi had just murdered his whole clan except for Sasuke; he would not hesitate to kill her. Without another thought, Naruto turned and fled, trying desperately, yet failing, to ignore the bodies littered across the compound._

_ Naruto allowed herself to let out a small sigh of relief when the gates to the Uchiha Compound came into sight. Suddenly, the air in front of her spiraled, the very space warping and twisting. The blonde girl skidded to a halt and watched with wide eyes as a man wearing an orange mask with a single eyehole and a black, high-collared cloak decorated with red clouds appeared._

_ "Hello, child," the man said. His voice was coldly arrogant and menacing. _

_ Naruto's eyes widened even further, if that was possible. Her terror only increased at the stranger's threatening aura that seemed to blanket her in a cocoon of darkness. The blonde did what any sensible person would do; she turned and ran._

_ Naruto had only raced forward a few feet when the man spiraled into existence in front of her once again. _'W-what?' _she thought in surprised terror. _'I couldn't even see him move!'

_"You're not planning on ending our meeting so soon, are you?" the man chuckled darkly._

_ "Who are you? What do want?" Naruto demanded frantically as she backed up, only to find her back against a wall. Her eyes flickered from side to side as she looked for a nonexistent escape route._

_ "In eight years my organization, the Akatsuki, will begin to hunt for the Bijuu. You the most important piece of my plan. So far, things have been…boring. Easy. I'm hoping you can grow into your potential and present some sort of challenge to me."_

_ "What the hell does this have to do with me?"_

_ "The Kyuubi is sealed within you, Naruto-chan. The Bijuu are chakra; chakra cannot be killed, only sealed."_

_ "L-liar! That's impossible!"_

_ "Is it really? How do you explain the way the villagers treat you then, hmm? They're afraid of you, and they're right; you will only bring pain, whether it be through loss of control of the Kyuubi or through people who want to get you and will destroy anybody in their way."_

_ Naruto's eyes flickered downwards. _'Damn it…is that why everybody..?'

"_Who are you?" Naruto asked again, more desperate this time._

_ The light of the full moon illuminated the single eyehole in the man's mask, revealing a three-tomoe Sharingan. "My name is Uchiha Madara."_

Naruto shot up into a sitting position with a scream when she awoke from her memory-turned-nightmare covered in cold sweat. She gasped for breath, grimacing when she realized that her hands were trembling. _'God damn it. It's been five years since then and I'm still so weak. I'm still scared. God damn it!'_

Just then, her alarm clock decided to go off, ringing shrilly. Naruto picked it up and carelessly threw it across the room where it crashed into the wall and promptly stopped ringing.

Naruto sighed as she eyed the calendar next to her bed. _'And my actual fighting ability is still pathetic. I only have three years left…unless I improve drastically on my genin team, Madara will…'_

Naruto shook her head violently as if it would help clear her mind of such morbid thoughts. Today was the day of her team assignments, damn it! Besides, three years was a long time, and now that she was a proper shinobi of Konoha, it would be much easier to improve. The books and scrolls in the library on D-Rank techniques would no longer be classified. She could go on missions and earn money to buy new gear with. She could now buy weapons other then kunai and shuriken.

With these thoughts in mind, Naruto dressed her normal outfit, a pair of plain and slightly baggy dark gray pants, a matching t-shirt and an orange vest. The Uzumaki snatched a rubber band off of her bookcase and used it to tie her hair into a loose ponytail. That done, she grabbed her hitai-ate, leapt out the window, and leaped across the rooftops towards the Academy.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Despite the fact that she was fast, Naruto was one of the last people to enter the classroom. She quickly stepped past the empty seat next to Sasuke; despite the fact that he had been a nice kid when he was younger, the Uchiha was now a complete and utter _bastard. _Sure, the Uchiha Massacre had been a mentally scarring event – Naruto herself had changed drastically after the event, and she hadn't even known any of the dead except for Mikoto – but he had a village full of people who were willing to help him. _'More then I have or ever will have,' _she thought.

Naruto sighed again as she sat down in the back of the room, ignored as always. _'Sometimes it can be useful to live in a village full of people who want to forget you exist, especially if you're a ninja,' _she mused. _'Other times it's just plain irritating.'_

"Hey, Dobe! This class is graduates only, looser!"

Ah. Inuzuka Kiba had arrived, apparently. Naruto glared at Kiba, pointing at the hitai-ate displayed across her forehead and snapping, "Lookie here. Are you blind or just dumb?"

Kiba blinked blankly before a smirk spread across his face. The puppy sitting atop Kiba's head barked. Whatever Akamaru had said, it caused Kiba to chuckle as the Inuzuka walked towards his own seat, closer to the front of the room.

Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura engaged in another of their arguments over Sasuke, shrieking at the top of their lungs. Both of them could be decent kunoichi if they just _tried, _but no, they were obsessed with Sasuke, who probably wouldn't give a shit if both of them dropped dead that very moment.

It was at that moment that Umino Iruka decided to enter the classroom. He took one look at the absolute chaos and roared, "Shut up and sit down, all of you!"

It wasn't much of a surprise that everybody did as he said. Be afraid of the mother hen-turned-teacher. Be very afraid. "Anyways. Beginning today, all of you are real shinobi, but you are still merely genin. The hard part has just started. You will now be assigned to missions that will benefit the village. Today you will all be grouped into three-man teams, and each team will have a jounin-sensei. You will be under that jounin's command until you become a chuunin. We tried to balance the strength in each team," Iruka explained.

Naruto sighed and listened as he listed off each of the teams.

"…Team 7 will be Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto's jaw fell open. _'Oh hell no! Why am I stuck with a useless kunoichi and a complete asstard?' _she thought. Naruto groaned and slammed her head against the desk. _'Well, I guess it could be worse. I could've had two useless people on my team or two asstards. Besides, Sakura comes from a civilian family, so it's possible that she could improve. And Sasuke pushed away all human contact after _that _incident, so in a team where he's forced to interact with others, his attitude could improve. Maybe. If I'm lucky.' _

0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto let out a frustrated snarl before she stood up and started pacing the classroom. "Why the hell is our sensei so damn late? Everybody else is gone, even Iruka-sensei!" she snapped to nobody in particular.

Sakura shrugged. "I'm sure they have a valid reason…" she murmured.

"Valid reason my ass," Naruto muttered angrily. "I swear…"

Just then, a hand wearing an ANBU-style glove opened the door to reveal a tall man with spiky, gravity-defying hair and single eye that was dark gray and held a bored and apathetic look. He wore the basic Konoha jounin and chuunin uniform as well as a black mask that covered the lower half of his face. His hitai-ate was tilted over his left eye, hiding it from view. The jounin looked at them disinterestedly, and said, "My first impression of you guys is…you're boring. Meet me on the roof in five minutes." With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. _'I definitely do not like this guy.'_

It only took two minutes for the three genin to assemble on top of the roof. Their silver-haired jounin-sensei was already there, slouching against the railing. "Alright, now that we're all here, let's start with the introductions."

"Hey, isn't the sensei supposed to go first for this kind of thing?" Naruto said irritably.

For once, Sakura actually agreed with the blonde. "Yeah, you're a complete stranger to us."

The jounin shrugged and said, "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I don't feel like telling you my likes and dislikes. I have many hobbies. My dreams? Hmm…"

Naruto stared flatly at the now-identified Kakashi. _'The name Hatake Kakashi rings a bell…I have to take a trip to the ANBU records vault soon,'_ she resolved.

"…So all we learned was his name?" muttered Sakura.

"Anyways, introduce yourselves, starting on the left," Kakashi ordered.

Sakura jumped slightly before she said, "I'm Haruno Sakura. My likes…umm…I dislike Ino-bunta! My hobbies…ahem…dreams…well…"

Naruto sighed. _'I'm Haruno Sakura. My likes are anything to do with Sasuke-kun. I dislike Ino-bunta. My hobby is stalking Sasuke-kun. My dream is to marry Sasuke-kun and have his babies,' _she mimicked silently. _'Really, could she be any more single-minded?'_

Next was Sasuke. "I am Uchiha Sasuke. I like very few things and I dislike whatever I don't like. My hobby is training. I have a dream, but I prefer to call it an ambition…I want to resurrect my clan and kill a certain man."

Naruto's eyes saddened. _'Gods, you've completely destroyed him, Nii-san,' _she thought as she remembered a younger, happier, Sasuke. When everybody's eyes landed on her, she thought for a moment about what she should say before she introduced herself. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, especially Ichiraku's ramen, and plants. I dislike the three minutes it takes to cook instant ramen and people who judge others based on what they've heard.My hobbies are pranks and growing plants. My goal is to…survive."

"Now that that's over with, I have something to tell you: you guys aren't genin yet," Kakashi said.

Naruto's eyes widened. "What?" she snapped, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You see, the original genin exams were created to see who had the chance to become a genin. The real test is administered by each jounin-sensei to their team and has a sixty-six percent chance of failure," Kakashi explained in that damnably cheerful voice of his.

_'WHAT? Sixty-six percent chance of failure?' _Naruto panicked. _'But I _have _to pass this!'_

"The test changes from jounin to jounin, but mine is survival training…against me. The test will be tomorrow at seven (1) in training ground 27. Make sure to bring all of your supplies and weapons; you'll need them. Oh, and don't eat breakfast. You'll throw up." On that morbid note, the Hatake disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Now, Uzumaki Naruto had never been one to play by the rules. They were ninja, right? Weren't they _supposed _to specialize in underhanded tricks and foul play?

However, it was Hatake Kakashi that she would be fighting against now. She had snuck into the ANBU HQ using some old passwords and a few tricks she had picked up over the years, – really, they really needed to upgrade the security there – entered the room where the files on individual shinobi were kept, and looked for Hatake Kakashi's file. As a former ANBU Buntaichou, Kakashi would be next to impossible to beat. Naruto was going to have to pull out every trick she knew if she was going to have any chance of beating him.

_Last Night, 22:45_

_ Naruto silently snapped the string tying a thin piece of metal to the inside of her vest. With quick, stealthy motions that told of years of practice in less then legal areas, she picked the lock on the filing cabinet labeled "H" in less then ten seconds. The drawer opened with a soft click, and Naruto froze for a full minute, just to be sure that nobody had heard her before she shuffled soundlessly through the different folders._

_ Just before she reached the folder labeled 'Hatake Kakashi', another name caught her attention. _'Haruno Mihu?' _she frowned. _'The only records kept in the ANBU HQ are those belonging to chuunin and higher shinobi. I had no idea Sakura was related to a shinobi…'

_ Naruto filed away that interesting tidbit of information before she pulled out the file belonging to her new jounin-sensei. She flipped it open and began reading the first page._

Name: Hatake Kakashi

Gender: Male

Moniker(s): Kopi Ninja no Kakashi, Sharingan no Kakashi

Age: 23

Birthday: September 15

Blood Type: O

Height: 181 cm

Weight: 67.5 kg

Family of Note: Hatake Sakumo (Father, Deceased), Hatake Ai (Mother, Deceased)

Ninja Registration Number: 006720

Academy Graduation Age: 5

Chuunin Promotion Age: 6

Jounin Promotion Age: 11

Signature Technique(s): Chidori, Raikiri, Sharingan

_And it went on and on and on from there, listing every tragic detail of the genius Hatake Kakashi's life. Well, she assumed it did – a lot of it was blacked out, but that was understandable since he had grown up during the Daisanji Ninkai Taisen. _

_ Naruto winced in sympathy when she read the part about his Uchiha teammate, Obito, giving Kakashi his Sharingan. _'So that's why he hid his other eye. Since he's not genetically suited for the Sharingan, it probably takes more chakra for him to use it.'

_Naruto finished scanning through the file before replacing it and closing the filing cabinet. _'Whatever this training exercise is, if we really are fighting against him, I'm definitely going to need everything I have. And then there's the fact that the Yondaime was his sensei…if he holds a grudge, I might end up dying sooner then I'd like. However, looking at his file and how he reacted to certain situations, I doubt that he'd be the sort of person to hold a grudge like that. Also, he is proficient in fuuinjutsu, so he probably knows the difference from the kunai and the scroll it's sealed in. However, it is also possible that he has negative feelings towards me subconsciously. If that's the case, then if I ever get into a situation where my life is in danger…he probably won't save me and then say that my death was an accident,' _Naruto realized grimly. _'To be on the safe side, I should be careful around him until I have proof that he can be trusted.'

_She locked the cabinet and exited the ANBU HQ silently. _

Naruto grabbed a black belt that had four pouches hanging from it and tied it on. (2) The front right pouch had kunai with wire strung with explosive tags tied to them while the back right had kunai with explosive tags simply wrapped around their handles. The front left had kunai with five meters of ninja wire tied to them and the back left had shuriken with the same amount of wire attached.

Naruto slipped a single fuuma shuriken inside of her pack, and she was ready to go. She leaped out the window and towards training ground 27 a second later, leaving behind nothing but a swish of air.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi was late to the test by an hour, of course. He had been late for years; he wasn't going to change old habits just for a team of brats he probably wasn't going to pass. The jounin was vaguely amused by the scene he saw when he reached training ground 27; Naruto was leaning against one of the three training posts, half asleep, while Sakura was fawning over a visibly annoyed Sasuke. "Yo!" Kakashi called with a cheery wave.

"You're late!" Sakura snarled.

"Sorry, my alarm clock broke," Kakashi lied easily as his eye curved up into an upside-down 'u'. "Anyway," he continued as he pulled out a pair of bells and an alarm clock, which he placed on the training post that Naruto was leaning against. "I will now explain the test. Your goal is to get one of these bells before the alarm clock rings at twelve. If you don't get a bell by that time, you will be tied to one of the training posts while I eat lunch in front of you and be sent back to the Academy."

Sakura's brows furrowed and she glanced at the two bells dangling from his hand. "But Sensei, there are only two bells!" she protested.

Kakashi nodded. "Yep. That means at least one of you won't pass and will be sent back to the Academy. It might be one of you, but it might also be all three. You are allowed to use shuriken and kunai. Come at me as if you mean to kill or else you won't stand a chance."

Sasuke tensed as he prepared to leap away. A calculating gleam entered Naruto's eyes and her hand inched towards the back right pouch hanging from her belt. Sakura grimaced, but a determined glint entered her pale green eyes. "Ready…start!" Kakashi exclaimed.

Immediately, all three of them leaped away in opposite directions. _'It looks like none of them figured out the real meaning of this test,' _Kakashi noted. _'But all three of them are hidden pretty well. It seems that they understand that the basics of a shinobi is to conceal oneself from the enemy. Now, who shall I go after first?'_

Naruto's chakra signature, which was surprisingly the best disguised out of all three of the genin, was closest. Kakashi soundlessly shunshined a couple of meters behind Naruto and murmured, just loud enough for the blonde to hear, "You really shouldn't allow your enemies to sneak up on you."

Naruto whirled around immediately, her eyes wide with surprise. Her knees bent and she focused chakra to her legs, giving away her intention to leap backwards. Kakashi sped forward and aimed a powerful roundhouse kick towards Naruto's ribcage. She jumped over Kakashi's kick, missing it by less then a centimeter. The Uzumaki flipped once and used her chakra to attach herself to the tree trunk about seven feet up. _'So she already has the ability to do the tree-climbing exercise. Where would she have learned something like that?' _he wondered idly, his coal-black eye narrowed slightly. The Hatake shrugged mentally and leaped up and prepared to punch Naruto. "Shinobi tactical knowledge number one: Taijutsu," he said as his fist hit the tree trunk where Naruto had been crouching a few seconds beforehand. _'She's fast,' _he observed as he landed on the ground, _'but keeping up that kind of speed must be tiring, especially since she seems to be using her chakra to strengthen her muscles.' _  
Sure enough, Naruto's breathing had sped up, even if she wasn't showing any other signs of exhaustion. _'She has pretty good stamina for a kunoichi her age, but that's understandable because of the Kyuubi,' _Kakashi thought.

Naruto was fiddling with something, maybe ninja wire, judging by the light reflecting off of some small metallic object. In one smooth movement, Naruto pulled out two kunai from one of the pouches hanging from her waist and threw them outwards in opposite directions, completely missing Kakashi. The jounin frowned for a second, but then realized what she was up to as the wire, tied to both of the kunai, began to unfurl. At high speeds, ninja wire could be just as sharp as any kunai. If the kunai continued on their path, they would bury themselves into trees opposite from each just behind Kakashi. If that happened, his head might very well be cut off. _'Clever,' _he thought, mentally commending Naruto as he ducked. _'But that won't be enough to get the bells.'_

However, her failure didn't seem to perturb Naruto at all. She burst off of the tree trunk at a reasonably impressive speed towards Kakashi. But she overshot slightly so that she was more likely to land near the wire stretched between two trees like a tightrope then she was to land next to or behind Kakashi. The jounin's eyes widened slightly as he realized that that was what Naruto had been planning all along when the blonde landed with both feet on the wire. A burst of chakra later, and Naruto was in the air, zooming away from him. _'So all along, she was trying to escape, not get the bells. But…she won't pass if that's the way she's fighting. I wonder what she's thinking…'_

Kakashi was startled out of his thoughts when a string of explosive notes attached to a kunai was sent hurtling at him. He stayed long enough to see Naruto's impish smirk before he shunshined away. _'Cheeky brat.'_

0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto crouched down on all fours as she weighed her options carefully. She analyzed everything Kakashi had done during the brief time he had been in her line of sight. _'He's a fucking former ANBU Buntaichou. The only way somebody like me would stand a chance would be if I tried something so low, so underhanded, that even he wouldn't expect it. But what on earth would shock him that badly? C'mon, think. What is his weakness?' _

Suddenly, an evil smirk spread across Naruto's face as she remembered the book Kakashi had been reading when he had showed up for the bell test: Icha Icha Paradise. _'So he's a pervert, eh? I never would have thought my practice with the Orioke no Jutsu would ever actually be useful in combat.' _ The blonde couldn't hold back her snicker as her hands wove a tiger seal. In a puff of smoke, Naruto turned into a curvaceous red-haired kunoichi with pigtails in fitted black clothing that left very little to the imagination. _'Now all I have to do is charm the damn bells off of him, or distract him for long enough for me to get them.'_

Kakashi was leaning against the left training post, and reading his treasured Icha Icha after knocking Sakura out with a simple genjutsu when a flash of red entered his sight. When he realized that the bright color belonged to a kunoichi, he quickly stashed his book into his pocket. Kakashi wasn't stupid enough to think that the woman in front of him wouldn't at least try to beat the shit out of him if she saw him reading porn.

0o0o0o0o0o0

He looked up at the kunoichi and tried to stop the trickle of blood coming out of his nose. She was beautiful; all curves and a sinfully beautiful face. Had he by some chance died and gone to heaven?

"Ahem, Kakashi-san?" she said with an affronted look on her face.

"Huh?" Kakashi mentally slapped himself for his undignified response.

"Kakashi-san, Anko-sempai wanted to speak to you," the redhead said silkily. Suddenly, she moved closer. Was that her hand on his thigh? What-? And why on earth was she pressed against his side? _'Not that it's an uncomfortable feeling,' _he thought dryly. "Of course, she did say in a couple of hours, knowing your habit of lateness. I can think of something we could do together in that time, _Ka-ka-shi,"_ she purred into his ear.

The silver-haired jounin gulped nervously. The redhead in front of him reminded him a little too much of a prowling cat about to eat it's prey.

"So now you've taken to picking up random women, Kakashi? Your qualifications for a jounin-sensei seem to be rather limited," Sasuke's arrogant voice called from behind him.

The redhead jumped slightly and stepped away from Kakashi. "Remember, Anko-sempai wanted to see you. My name's Chiyoko, by the way. Tatsumaki Chiyoko."

Kakashi nodded sharply before Chiyoko walked away from the training ground. Once she was gone, Kakashi turned and fixed Sasuke with an annoyed stare.

The Hatake didn't notice that both his bells and his Icha Icha were missing.

0o0o0o0o0

Half an hour later, all three genin stood across from Kakashi. Sasuke sighed irritably; if he hadn't been able to snatch some bells, how on earth was he ever going to get good enough to defeat Itachi? _'No,' _he snapped at himself mentally. _'It's only a matter of time!' _

Kakashi sighed as he surveyed the three genin. "Well, you've all failed," he said flatly.

To Sasuke's right, something jingled. The Uchiha turned to find the two bells dangling from Naruto's fingertips. "Ah, is that really true, Sensei?" she chirped.

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise. _'How-? How on earth could she have gotten the bells when even _I _couldn't? She was the dead last of our class!'_

Kakashi looked vaguely shocked. "When did you get the bells?" he asked, a slight curiosity in his voice.

The blonde smirked in reply. "What would be the fun in telling you that?"

"Well then, who are you going to give the other bell to?" Kakashi asked pleasantly.

For a moment, Naruto looked indecisive and Sasuke grit his teeth together. He _hated _having to depend on somebody else for anything. Depending on others made you weak, and Uchiha Sasuke was _not _weak, damn it!

Then, a grim smile slowly spread across Naruto's face. She pulled out an orange book from her ninja pouch and quickly slapped an explosive tag on it before chucking it a good ten meters away from the group of shinobi. "These bells are like passes to become genin, right? So, Sensei, is your book worth a pass?" Naruto asked slyly as her hands formed the tiger seal.

Kakashi looked alarmed as he said frantically, "Fine, fine you all pass! Now let my book go!"

Sasuke looked flatly at his jounin-sensei. _'Really? He's that desperate for a _book?'

Naruto relaxed her hands. "It's safe now," she said. "And I expect a thank you from both of you, Sakura, Sasuke."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. Before he could say anything rude, Kakashi returned, his orange book explosive tag-less and safe in his hand. "Congratulations on passing the test, you three. I actually do suggest you thank Naruto, because all three of you would have failed if she hadn't threatened to blow up my book if I hadn't passed you."

Sakura frowned. "What do you mean, Sensei? I thought that the two people who got the bells would have passed."

Kakashi shook his head. "No. You three obviously don't understand the true answer to this test."

"The true answer?" Naruto muttered. "What do you mean?"

"…It's teamwork," the jounin replied.

"Wait, but there were only two bells! How could we have worked together if one of us would fail anyway?" Sakura asked snappishly.

It was Naruto who answered this time. "It's a system meant to turn us against each other. You were looking for the person who would sacrifice themselves for the common good, right, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Exactly, Naruto," said Kakashi. "Although you did it in an unorthodox manner, you still thought about both of your teammates when I asked you who you would give the bell to. But all three of you, try to remember that in the world of shinobi, those who break the rules are considered trash, but those who do not care for their comrades are lower then trash."

Sasuke blinked once. _'Huh. This guy might actually be worth my time,' _he thought idly. _'As long as he can help me get stronger, I suppose his quirks don't really matter.'_

0o0o0o0o0o0 

"All right then, I guess I should discuss your performances and then decide on a training schedule of sorts for you three," Kakashi said, his single eye curved up into an arc. "Sasuke, while you have large chakra reserves for a genin, your fighting style is straightforward and easily predictable. Your traps were of an adequate level, but not hard to avoid or disarm. Your arrogance will quickly undermine you if you do not learn to curb it; while you may believe that your teammates will only drag you down, they can be valuable allies in any situation. Also, arrogance can be the death of you on a mission. You have potential as a front-line fighter, but you nmore variety and an attitude check.

"Sakura, I will be blunt with you. You easily fell for a simple genjutsu and searched frantically for Sasuke even though you had no idea where he was. Your teachers commended your intellect, but you can't see through anything if Sasuke has something to do with it. Your stamina is extremely low, and I suggest you stop dieting if you don't want to starve yourself; shinobi need the extra calories. Not that there's anything wrong with vegetables. At the moment, you have potential for genjutsu and possibly strategy.

"Naruto, you are a bit of a problem. Your skill with shinobi tools is rather high, as is your stealth since you were able to steal my book and the bells without my notice. Your chakra control and reserves are also above average. None of this was mentioned in your file; although I find it curious that the only reason you were the dead last was because of the fact that you never attended the special kunoichi classes and you rarely turned in your homework. To be quite honest, I wasn't able to gauge your skill that well because we never fought directly.

"To properly gauge your skill levels, I will set up a few short matches between you three and myself before we move on. Naruto, you're up first. This will be a taijutsu only battle. Sasuke and Sakura, step back."

Sasuke and Sakura did as instructed, walking a couple of meters away from Kakashi and Naruto, who both settled in to basic fighting stances. Both of them were balanced lightly on the balls of their feet. Neither of them twitched. _'Well, if she's not going to make a move, I guess I'll have to go in first!' _Kakashi thought as he rushed in and aimed a vicious punch at Naruto. The blonde immediately dropped to the ground on all fours before lashing out towards Kakashi's knee with both legs. Kakashi wasn't quite fast enough to dodge completely, but Naruto's heel only clipped his kneecap. _'She has speed, but not strength. Judging by her movements and the fact that she aimed towards the side of my knees, where she could have sent me to the ground if she had come into contact with me, Naruto makes up for her lack of strength by aiming for weak points on the body. Clever.'_

To test his theory, Kakashi allowed Naruto to stand up before he attacked again, this time with a brutal sidekick. Just as he thought she would, Naruto slammed her elbow into the back of his knee, causing painful tingles to run up his leg. Unfortunately for Naruto, this didn't stop Kakashi's momentum completely, and his heel slammed into her shoulder.

Naruto hissed in pain and backed away, rubbing her injured shoulder. This time, she was the one who attacked first. The side of her hand flickered towards Kakashi's neck. The jounin stepped to the side and allowed Naruto to overextend herself. Taking advantage of her loss of balance, Kakashi smashed his foot into her ribcage and sent her crashing to the ground. A second later, Naruto was up again and leaping forward, elbow extended towards his diaphragm.

Kakashi had seen what he needed to, so he grabbed Naruto's wrist and twisted until her arm threatened to break and her movement had stilled. "That's enough. You do not have a lot of strength, so you relied on your speed to cover for you. But you relied on that speed too much; when you meet an opponent faster then you, your taijutsu style is rendered useless. You don't have a lot of strength, so you focused completely on speed and lashing out at your opponent's weak points. I will admit that it is a clever way to cover for your weaknesses, but specialization can either be your savior or your death. Most of the time, it will be the latter. But my job is to improve your abilities and protect you until you can protect yourselves, so both your speed and strength will improve if I have anything to say about it. Now, if you have any other abilities – ninjutsu, genjutsu, etcetera – now would be the time to tell me about it." When his spoken observation of Naruto's abilities was done, Kakashi released her arm. The genin immediately backed away.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't really have anything else in my arsenal besides _Kawarimi_, _Bunshin_, and _Henge _unless you count making traps."

Kakashi nodded. _'Traps, huh? Her proficiency with weapons is above average, and her taijutsu style is based more on accuracy rather then blunt power. Her stealth is definitely above average. But she doesn't have any ninjutsu or genjutsu, which is understandable since she doesn't belong to a clan of any sort. If you put her skills together and look at them as a whole, Naruto might be a good assassin or spy, but I don't really want somebody so young to have a specialty like that. And then there's the fact that she managed to snatch my bells…the only time I was distracted was when that Chiyoko woman was there. It is possible that Naruto used the _Henge _to transform herself into Chiyoko. I definitely wouldn't put it past Naruto to use my weaknesses like that.'_

"Sakura, you're next," Kakashi said firmly. Naruto stepped back and Sakura took her place, settling into the basic academy stance.

After a moment of indecision, Sakura charged forward and threw a simple punch. Kakashi blocked it easily, and he noted her motions were slightly stiff and awkward, as if the mind but not the body had memorized them. _'She probably spent too much time focusing on her book studies, judging by her file,' _Kakashi thought with a grimace.

Once again, Sakura went on the offensive, this time with a quick roundhouse kick. Kakashi blocked the kick with his forearm. _'Even if she has the mind of a strategist, she has personality of a frontline fighter if her offensive movements are anything to go by.' _And it was true; even through their brief spar, Kakashi could tell that Sakura was not a defensive type. Her file had also mentioned her volatile temper, meaning she would probably be unsuited for life as a spy, assassin, medic, or strategist unless she could learn to calm herself and reign in her temper. However…that also meant some types of genjutsu might be difficult for her in the long run. Damn. "That's enough," Kakashi said. "Do you have any other techniques you want to show me?" when Sakura shook her head in the negative, Kakashi continued, "Sasuke, I already have a pretty good grip on your taijutsu style. Do you have any other techniques besides _Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu_?"

"I know _Katon: Housenka no Jutsu _Sasuke said proudly.

"Preform it," Kakashi ordered.

Sasuke nodded as his hands began to weave the needed seals. _"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu," _he muttered before breathing out multiple smaller balls of fire.

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. _'The speed of his hand seals was rather impressive for a rookie genin. I guess his title of Rookie of the Year isn't completely misleading,' _the Hatake mused. "Okay you three. Tomorrow I will bring three taijutsu scrolls for both of you. I want each of you to select one; that will be your style until you either master it, so choose wisely. Play to your strengths and cover for your weaknesses. We will also begin ninjutsu training tomorrow, so rest up! But before that happens, you guys have to learn something else: how to climb trees!"

Kakashi gained some sort of sick amusement from the disbelieving expressions on his students' faces.

"Um…Sensei, we already learned how to climb trees in the Academy," Sakura protested.

"Not without hands, you haven't," Kakashi replied. Sakura frowned, looking confused, while Sasuke's eyes narrowed. A cocky smirk spread across Naruto's face, reinforcing Kakashi's belief that she had already learned the exercise.

"Sensei, wouldn't that be impossible? And why should we learn this if we can do exactly the same thing with our hands?" Sakura queried.

Kakashi walked up a nearby tree with only his feet touching the trunk in any way to answer Sakura's first question. "This same technique can be used in battle to stick to ceilings or walls. But perhaps even more importantly then that, this is the first stage of learning how to control your chakra properly.

"You see, when people create chakra, they are mixing specific amounts of physical and mental energy based on what type of technique they're going to use. However, unless you have good chakra control, some of that chakra will go to waste. If you run out of chakra, you will die; so learning how to use your chakra effectively can save your life. Also, certain types of jutsu, such as genjutsu and iryoujutsu, require excellent control to work properly.

"Anyways, the tree climbing exercise is done by focusing the correct amount of chakra into your feet and using it to stick to the tree. Use your kunai to mark how high you get and keep trying to improve until you can reach the top of the tree."

All three of the genin nodded and pulled out a kunai before racing up a tree.

Sakura got about two thirds of the way up before she almost fell off. Sasuke only climbed a few feet before the bark cracked under the pressure of his chakra. Naruto on the other hand, easily loped up the tree before walking back down.

Kakashi blinked. _'Okay, note to self: Ask Naruto where the hell she learned tree climbing.' _"Sakura, good job. Keep going until you can get to the top and then meet me by the river. Sasuke, try using a little less chakra. Naruto, come with me," instructed Kakashi.

Naruto followed the jounin obediently to the edge of the river flowing through the training grounds. Once they were there, Kakashi turned to face his student. "Naruto, how did you know the tree climbing exercise?" he asked sharply.

Naruto scuffed the ground with his foot and shrugged. "…When we started working on ninjutsu in my second year, I couldn't do anything right. Everything I tried just blew up in my face or failed. When I asked Iruka-sensei about it, he said that it might be because I had so much chakra it was hard for me to control it properly. I asked what I could do to improve my chakra control, and he said to ask a librarian about it. I did, and they gave me a few chakra control exercises. They're not classified, so I was able to get them without any problems," she explained.

"I see. How many of the exercises can you do?" Kakashi asked.

"I finished the kunai-twirling exercise, and I just started on basic shape manipulation," Naruto answered.

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at that. _'Shape manipulation at the age of twelve…with such good chakra control she may be able to become a medic. I was originally planning to have Sakura learn some medical ninjutsu, but with Naruto on the team it might be better to have Sakura focus more on her combat abilities and train Naruto to act as a medic.' _"Hm…then go back to the clearing with Sasuke and Sakura and do push-ups, punches, curl-ups, that sort of thing. I noticed that your strength was lacking earlier."

"Already on it," Naruto smirked.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched as he glared angrily at the tree he had been trying to climb. Gritting his teeth in frustration and annoyance, he turned to Naruto, who was doing push-ups a few feet away. "Naruto," he called.

The blonde kunoichi paused in her push-ups. "Yeah?"

Sasuke sighed in aggravation and did his best to bury his pride. "Um…can you help me with this?" he asked hesitantly.

Naruto blinked as if surprised. "Sure," she shrugged. "Since chakra is made of both physical and mental energy, you need to calm down. Being frustrated or angry will make it a lot harder to mold chakra. And really, the whole exercise is about finding the right amount of chakra and maintaining that amount of chakra."

Sasuke nodded and did his best to follow Naruto's advice. When he fell down again, Naruto walked over and helped him up.

"Don't feel as if you're too incompetent," Naruto advised.

At that, Sasuke's temper snapped. "Sakura understood this before me! You, the dead last at the Academy, got it before I did! Why the hell _shouldn't_ I feel incompetent?" he spat.

Naruto faced his tirade unflinchingly. "I only got it because I've done this before," she said. "Do you remember how bad I was when we first started working on ninjutsu in the Academy?"

And indeed, Sasuke did remember. Every time Naruto had tried something other then the _Kawarimi_, it had exploded in her face or failed miserably. Hesitantly, he nodded, not quite sure where Naruto was going.

"Well, the reason I couldn't do it was because I had really crappy chakra control. When you use a jutsu, it's like trying to take water out of a dam. The more water behind the dam, the harder it is to take a small amount. The less water, the easier it is. Because I have very large chakra reserves, it was almost impossible for me to take a small amount of chakra and preform one of the Academy jutsu. For this reason, I went to the library and looked up some books on chakra control. I learned the tree climbing exercise from these books.

"On the other hand, Sakura has a much smaller amount of chakra then you or me. Because of this, it is much easier for her to manipulate her chakra correctly," Naruto explained. "And as for you being incompetent, you are probably the best genin in terms of combat. You already know two non-Academy ninjutsu, your taijutsu has never been something to sneeze at, and your genjutsu potential was supposed to be pretty high if I remember correctly. Sakura does have potential, but it's untapped. Currently, she has extremely low stamina and nothing going her except for her intelligence. I'm not much better; I may have pretty large chakra reserves, but I have no ninjutsu to speak of."

Sasuke nodded slowly; what she said did make sense. For an idiot, anyway. "You had such bad chakra control that you couldn't create a clone? Geez, you really are an idiot," he taunted.

"Yeah, and you're an ass. Tell me something I don't know," Naruto retorted snappishly.

Sasuke snorted and returned to his tree while Naruto continued her push-ups.

0o0o0o0o0o0

In my story, shinobi use military time. For those of you who don't know, that means 8:00 is eight in the morning and 20:00 is eight o'clock at night. Basically, it's a clock that operates on twenty-four hours instead of twelve.

This is what Shikamaru wore when he fought Kakuzu and Hidan, just black.

Glossary

Kannabi – Where the Gods Do Not Help

help

Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen – The Fourth Great Shinobi World War

Onii-san - Brother. The "o-" prefix is honorific, so younger siblings speaking to an older brother most often use this. Nii-san means the same thing with a slightly lower level of respect.

Ino-bunta – Ino-pig

Rikudo Sennin – Sage of the Six Paths

Buntaichou – Squad Captain

Kopi Ninja no Kakashi – Kakashi the Copy Ninja

Sharingan no Kakashi – Kakashi of the Sharingan

Fuuinjutsu – Sealing Techniques

Daisanji Ninkai Taisen – The Third Great Shinobi World War

Shunshined – A shunshin is high-speed movement that is often used with another material (leaves, smoke, sand, mist, ect.) to distract the opponent or to simply make it flashier. "Shunshined" is a fan-made term referring to preforming a shunshin.

Orioke no Jutsu – Sexy Technique.

Kawarimi – Replacement

Bunshin – Clone

Henge – Transformation

Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu – Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Katon: Housenka no Jutsu – Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique

Iryoujutsu – Medical Techniques

Jutsu List

_Chidori_

English: One Thousand Birds

Rank: A

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, Short-Range

Creator: Hatake Kakashi

Effect: Lightning chakra is gathered around the user's hand so that it looks like a glowing white ball with flashes of lightning coming off of it. The user then rushes forward at high speeds to pierce the target. Due to the extreme power behind this technique, it is normally fatal. This technique can only be used by somebody who has the Sharingan or a sort of chakra sonar.

_Raikiri_

English: Lightning Cutter

Rank: S

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, Short-Range

Creator: Hatake Kakashi

Effect: This is basically a more concentrated _Chidori_. It has the same effects and drawbacks. It takes the form of lightning molded around the user's hand that has a bluer tint then the _Chidori._

_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu_

English: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Rank: C

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, Mid-Range

Creator: The Uchiha Clan

Effect: After the user finishes their hand seals, they gather chakra into their lungs before expelling it in a large ball of fire.

_Katon: Housenka no Jutsu_

English: Fire Release: Pheonix Sage Fire Technique

Rank: C

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, Mid-Range

Effect: After the necessary hand seals are completed, the user breathes out a volley of small fireballs that can be controlled with the user's chakra. The name of this technique is a pun on a type of flower called Housenka, literally "Pheonix Sage Flower."

The title of this chapter is Fallen Leaves by Billy Talent II.


	2. Scroll 1, Chapter 2: New Divide

Hi no Ishi, Scroll One: Kannabi

Full Summary: As Orochimaru and his allies threaten to topple Konoha, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke are becoming the leaders of their generation. The question is, will they survive the Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen or end up like the previous Sannin did - broken? AU diverging at the chuunin exams. FemNaru because I can. Team 7-centric.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly.

A/N: I'm still looking for a beta. PM me if you're interested!

_People prefer to believe what they prefer to be true._

_- Charles Bacon_

Chapter Two: New Divide

Kakashi hummed cheerfully as he reached his team's training grounds, already an hour late.

Sakura's eyebrow twitched and she shouted, "YOU'RE LATE!"

Naruto sighed in exasperation. Sasuke glared at him. Kakashi had to stifle his chuckle. "Hello team!" he chirped. "I ran into a giant green caterpillar that wanted to challenge me to a contest of wills, so I had to get rid of him first!"

In fact, it was half true. Gai had run into him and challenged him to a race around the village.

"I got three taijutsu styles for each of you to choose from," Kakashi explained as he pulled out nine scrolls from his pouch. He handed three to each of his genin. "When you're all done picking which one you want to learn, we'll work on your taijutsu until lunch, after which we'll start working on ninjutsu."

All three genin eagerly snatched up their scrolls as soon as Kakashi was done explaining and began to read.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto discarded the _Nanashi _almost as soon as she began reading it. It focused on using the feet for attacking, but it basically discarded the use of one's hands except for blocking. That was a major weakness, in Naruto's opinion, and a waste of resources.

The next taijutsu style, the _Hebi-Ryuu, _focused a lot on speed and taking advantage of the weak parts of the body. It was also dangerous because it took advantage of the enemy's strength and used it against them. The whole point was to move smoothly and attack at lightning-fast speeds, just like the snake that the style was named after. Naruto kept that one within reach before she picked up the last scroll.

The last style was the _Shunko. _Naruto read a little bit more about it before she decided to discard it. The_Shunko__,_ while requiring the speed that Naruto had, also required devastating strength that would take months, if not years, for Naruto to develop.

_'Looks like it's going to be the _Hebi-Ryuu,' Naruto decided. _'The _Nanashi _just sounds plain unappealing to me, and the _Shunko _uses something I don't have, even though it does sound like a strong taijutsu style. I might be able to learn it later on.'_

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sasuke went through his scrolls carefully. He had already discarded the _Senkouken _because it focused very little on blocking. If a faster person fought a user of the _Senkouken, _the user would loose in a heartbeat. The main defense was dodging and hoping you were faster than somebody else, and though Sasuke was confident that he could beat many people, he didn't really want to die because he had screwed up when he chose a taijutsu style.

The _Shugoken _was gone even faster then the _Senkouken. _It focused mostly on blocking and powerful attacks, but it was _slow. _

Sasuke ended up picking the _Goken_, one of Konoha's older taijutsu styles, because it made use of hands, feet, speed, and strength. It was less focused then the other styles he had gotten that day, and a lot more flexible.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The first scroll that Sakura read was the _Tsuru-Ryuu. _It relied on speed, as the main form of attacking was jumping in and preforming a few techniques before leaping out of range again. However, the defenses of the style were weak and easily penetrable. Sakura knew her strengths and weaknesses; while her speed was average for her age, and she was flexible, she wasn't particularly strong, so the fast, brutal punches and kicks of the style wouldn't suit her.

The _Toute, _on the other hand, she might be able to use. The beginning moves focused mostly on striking the body in its weak spots, but as the style progressed, the moves gradually became more versatile. It was also well suited to weapons and flexible enough that you could insert most types of swords into it without having to change too many of the stances.

Sakura discarded the _Koryuu _almost as soon as she started reading it. Not only was it old and well known, and therefore predictable, but also all of the attacks were pretty linear and easy to dodge or block if one knew what they were doing and what to expect.

_'So,' _she decided, _'_Toute _it is.'_

0o0o0o0o0o0

It took about twenty minutes for his genin to decide which style they wanted to use. "Okay!" Kakashi chirped, clapping his hands together. "Tell me which style you settled on, and then we can start working on your taijutsu."

"I decided on the _Goken_," Sasuke replied immediately.

"I chose the _Toute," _Sakura answered.

"_Hebi-Ryuu,_" Naruto said simply.

Kakashi nodded idly. _'Good. They all seem to have chosen something that will supplement their body types and existing fighting styles well. They seem to understand that, at least.' _"Now, every taijutsu style uses something all three of you need more of – strength," Kakashi said as he pulled out a scroll. "To be the most effective in taijutsu, you must have at least a decent amount of muscle." The jounin unsealed three sets of wrist and ankle weights, each weighing four pounds. "Put these on and do five laps around the village. Meet me back here when you're done."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. Sasuke winced slightly. Sakura sent Kakashi a disbelieving look. "But Sensei…" the Haruno said, whining slightly.

When Kakashi spoke again, his voice was harsh. "Sakura, we are shinobi. We do not waste time with whining, because when we waste time, the chance that one of our teammates will die on a mission goes up. I will not discriminate against you because you come from a civilian family, but I do expect you to pull the same weight as your teammates. If you are not willing to pull that weight, you are free to resign as a shinobi whenever you want. You will take your training seriously or some day, _somebody will die."_

Sakura looked down at the ground, properly cowed. "Hai, Sensei."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get going!" Kakashi said. Sasuke gave him one last glare before all three of them left, Naruto and Sasuke vying for the lead.

Kakashi would definitely be lying if he said he wasn't smirking sadistically under his mask when his team returned. He had them go through several strength- and speed-building exercises such as push-ups, punches, jump rope…damn, now he saw why some jounin actually enjoyed taking on teams; it was amusing to watch them suffer.

Wow. That had sounded kind of...what was the word he was looking for? Anko-like? Ibki-ish? Crazy? Insane? Probably all of the above. Maybe he had been spending too much time with Ibiki and Anko. Or maybe sadism was just something that happened when spent too much time as a shinobi. Or maybe it had something to do with ranking...? That was entirely possible, seeing as how most chuunin were perfectly normal, but jounin…well, that was another story entirely. Kakashi thought of Gai and shivered.

The ringing of an alarm clock interrupted Kakashi's thoughts. "Time for lunch!" Kakashi called to his students. Almost instantaneously, all three of them lay down, breathing hard. "You know, if you lay down like that, you're going to get cramps," Kakashi said idly.

Naruto grimaced as she stood up. "You're paying for lunch," she muttered.

Kakashi shrugged. "Sure. Where do you three want to go?"

"Ichiraku Ramen," was Naruto's immediate response. The blonde sent a glare to her teammates that clearly said, "Say no and I will shove a kunai so far up your ass you'll be able to taste it."

For some reason, Kakashi didn't doubt that she would do it. Clearly Sakura and Sasuke didn't doubt it either, as neither of them protested, though Sakura looked ticked off. Actually, so did Sasuke if the slight twitch in his right eye was anything to go by.

"Ramen it is," Kakashi conceded.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Sakura, you need to eat more," Naruto said, sounding faintly concerned.

Sakura just frowned and twirled the noodles around with her chopsticks. She wanted to go on a diet so that she would look better for Sasuke-kun, but she was hungry. She glanced quickly at Sasuke, who was sitting beside her, before saying, "It's fine. I'm not hungry."

Naruto sighed before leaning in to Sakura's ear. "Look, I understand that you have a crush on the Uchiha. But no boy is worth starving yourself over. If he cares that much about your figure, he doesn't deserve you," whispered Naruto. "Beneath that obsession with Sasuke and your fiery temper, you're a good person. Besides, you'll be able to do more training if you eat more food. And the more one sweats while training, the less they bleed during battle. I'd prefer not to get myself killed covering your ass. I'm pretty sure Sasuke wouldn't appreciate that either."

Sakura grimaced as she saw the truth in Naruto's words. But still, ramen wasn't exactly the healthiest food in the world.

"Look, I don't care if you have a crush on Sasuke." Naruto's voice was colder this time. "What I do care about is if that crush gets in the way of my survival. This team's survival. I won't tolerate you weakening yourself or others for some stupid crush like you did in the Academy. You're a shinobi Sakura, so start acting like one."

Sakura's rage bubbled to the surface, but as her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched, she realized that Naruto was right. _'As it is, I'm kind of getting in the way,' _the Haruno thought. _'And Naruto's right; now that we're shinobi, we really could die. And if their deaths are my fault…'_ Sakura swallowed as she glanced at her teammates. _'I don't think I'd be able to live with myself.' _

Even after only a day and a half of being with them, the thought of having one of her teammates die made Sakura's heart ache.

A steely shade of determination entered Sakura's eyes. _'I won't be weak any longer!' _she decided. _'None of them are going to die if I have anything to say about it!'_

Sakura smiled at Naruto, wordlessly thanking her, before digging into her noodles with renewed fervor.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi lead his three genin back to the training grounds after they were finished eating. Once they were there, Kakashi gestured for them to sit in the central clearing. They did so, and Kakashi followed suit. "Okay, so this afternoon is going to be about ninjutsu. As you probably know, most ninjutsu consist of manipulating one of the five elements," Kakashi said as he pulled out a scroll that had a diagram of all five elements drawn on it. "These elements being, of course, fire, wind, lightning, earth, and water. However, each of these elements are weak to one element and strong against another. For example, a wind technique colliding with a fire technique of the same level will only be absorbed by the fire and make it larger. Likewise, water will douse fire. However, if the fire technique is of a higher level then the water technique, it will be the water that is rendered useless.

"So the weaknesses and strengths go like this: Fire is weak to water, but strong against wind, wind beats lightning, lightning is stronger then earth, and earth defeats water. It's a circle.

"Each shinobi is aligned with one of these elements. This is called an affinity. For example, I have a lightning affinity, which means I have an easier time using lightning element techniques. However, through extensive training, a shinobi can use more elements then that. This process takes several years for most people even when working with their affinity, so it's basically impossible for a person to learn to control all five elements through normal means.

"Each of these elements is more common in their own country. For example, fire is common here, in Hi no Kuni, while water is more common in Mizu no Kuni. This is caused by genes because elemental affinities are at least partially genetic. For example, the members of the Uchiha Clan tended to have a fire affinity. But it's not completely genetic because I knew one Uchiha who had a water affinity. Another who had a lightning affinity."

By this time all three of the genin were listening raptly. "Anyway, the whole point of that speech was to give you at least a basic background in elemental affinities. Next, we use this," Kakashi said before pulling out four slips of paper, "to figure out your elemental affinity."

The genin stared at him blankly.

"This paper is made out of trees grown on chakra," explained Kakashi. "As such, they are very sensitive to chakra. All you have to do is channel your chakra into the paper and it will reveal your affinity. If it is lightning, the paper will crinkle. If it's water, the paper will become wet. If it's fire, the paper will turn to ash. If it's wind, the paper will be sliced in half. If it's earth, the paper will crumble and become dust."

"Wait, Sensei, you said you were a lightning type, right? Could you show us?" asked Sakura curiously.

Kakashi eye-smiled before holding up a single piece of paper between two fingers. A second later, the paper crumpled.

"Wow," Sakura murmured. "Can I try?"

Kakashi handed her a slip of paper wordlessly. As soon as Sakura channeled her chakra into it, the paper burst into flames.

The Hatake raised his one visible eyebrow slightly. _'That's a pretty strong fire affinity,' _he noted. "You have fire, Sakura," Kakashi said. The Haruno practically beamed.

Kakashi handed a piece of paper to Naruto next. The blonde immediately channeled her chakra into the paper to see it crumple up until it was almost half the size it had been before. "Lightning," proclaimed Naruto.

_'That's another strong affinity,' _Kakashi thought. _'What's next? Two elements?' _

When Sasuke channeled chakra into his paper, it immeadiately crumbled into dust. And was that a little bit of ash..? "Sasuke, can you hand me the dust you created?" the jounin asked.

Sasuke shrugged and tipped his handful of dust into Kakashi's gloved hand. Kakashi sifted through the dust and face faulted when he saw that Sasuke did, indeed, have two elements, even if the fire part was much smaller then the earth part. "Well, Sasuke, it would seem that you have two affinities. My best guess is that your earth affinity is your natural one, but your constant use of the Uchiha fire techniques altered the makeup of your chakra slightly."

Sasuke smirked cockily when he heard the part about two elements. Kakashi could practically hear the thoughts of superiority running through the younger shinobi's head. "However, both Naruto and Sakura have stronger affinities, even if it is only to one element," Kakashi remarked in an attempt to deflate Sasuke's ego.

At that, Sasuke's smirk turned into a small scowl.

Sakura looked as if she wanted to say something in Sasuke's defense, but glanced at Naruto before closing her mouth. Kakashi filed that away for later as he wondered, _'Did Naruto say something to Sakura?'_

"I brought a few D-Rank techniques for each element for you guys to work on. You'll start with those and then work your way up the scale," said Kakashi as he pulled out a scroll and unsealed three others from it. One was brown, the other orange, and the last pale blue. Kakashi saw Sasuke's scowl at the mention of "D-Rank" and explained, "Don't look at me like that, Sasuke. You already know two C-Rank fire techniques and I'll accept that. But you won't get special treatment from me because of that. I don't care if you're considered a genius; all three of you are on my team and it's my job to make sure all of you succeed. We will start with D-Rank techniques and work our way up, and that's final."

Sasuke grimaced before snorting and sticking up his nose slightly. Kakashi would have rolled his eyes at the Uchiha's childishness if he had less control over his actions.

"Each of these scrolls have two techniques in them belonging to your element. By the time training is over, I expect you to be able to use at least one of them easily. Sakura, the orange one is yours. Sasuke, you have the brown one. Naruto, take the light blue scroll," Kakashi ordered. "Get to it!"

The genin quickly snatched up their respective scrolls before spreading out beginning to read.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sasuke was already slightly irritated when he began reading his scroll. How dare that man call himself a sensei if all he would teach was D-Ranks, which everybody knew were practically useless? If Sasuke had been somebody with less emotional control, he probably would already have katon-ed Kakashi lazy, perverted, ass. As it was, Sasuke had to struggle to calm himself and his chakra so that he wouldn't accidently blow something up. Well…maybe accidently wasn't the right word.

Sighing in frustration, Sasuke forced himself to relax and read the techniques Kakashi had given him. There was _Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu _and _Doton: Jimen Bara._

Sasuke frowned. 'Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu _is the technique Kakashi used on me during the bell test, but I didn't see any seals. Is it even possible to preform a technique without seals?' _he wondered. _'It's definitely worth looking into.'_

He wouldn't be able to practice _Doton Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu _properly without a willing partner, so Sasuke quickly wove the seals for _Doton: Jimen Bara_ and slammed his hand into the ground.

The ground molded up into small spikes, but Sasuke grimaced when he realized they weren't exactly sharp. They were more like miniature stalagmites then thorns of any sort.

Fuck.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura opened her scroll happily, but deflated almost as soon as she read what her techniques were.

_Katon: Karui Yakedo_ focused heat into the user's hand, causing whatever they touched to burn upon contact. However, it could only be maintained for a small amount of time before it started to burn the user. _Katon: Chou _formed a small butterfly that could be controlled until the chakra that formed it ran out. It could be used as a signal or to set something afire from a distance.

_'I have to master these if I'm ever going to be able to use higher-level fire techniques. Everything starts at the base before going up,' _Sakura reminded herself. That in mind, she turned to a nearby tree and formed the seals for _Katon: Karui Yakedo._

0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto's hands flickered through the seals for _Raiton: Denkyuu _and quietly muttered the name of the technique. Her mouth twitched up into a confident smirk as a large orb of white electricity flared to life in her hand. _Raiton: Denkyuu _was pretty easy to master, but then again it was a D-Rank.

Naruto glanced quickly at her second technique and committed the essentials of it to memory. The second technique was _Raiton: Raisentan_, which allowed lightning chakra to settle in the edges of a weapon, giving the victim an electrostatic shock when they touched the weapon.

Naruto quickly wove the required hand seals, picked up a kunai, and murmured, _"Raiton: Raisentan_." The edges of it flared a pale blue for a moment before electricity surged up through her hand. "Shit!" she hissed as she dropped the kunai. Naruto shook her hand as if that would help get rid of the tingles running through her hand and forearm. Naruto frowned and reread the scroll to see if she had missed something and then rolled her eyes when she saw that you had to coat your hand in chakra lest you be shocked. _'Observant, much?' _she thought sarcastically before preforming the seals again.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi smiled cheerfully when all three of his genin finished their techniques a good hour and a half before the deadline. "Congratulations, you three. I'll bring another D-Rank and a C-Rank technique for each of you tomorrow," said the silver-haired jounin.

"Sensei, what are we going to do for the rest of our time?" asked Sakura. "We still have a while before training's over."

Kakashi let out a small humming noise. Sakura's tired but satisfied expression reminded him of her low stamina. _'Hmm…With Naruto's taijutsu style, she'll need more speed and strength, Sakura needs more stamina, and Sasuke needs more strength to utilize the _Goken _properly. So that means…'_

Kakashi's eye curved up into a crescent before he had his genin put on their weights again and continue their training from that morning. He barely resisted snickering at their groans of annoyance.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Later that night, Naruto was in the library, searching for one particular book.

"Ah, Naruto-chan!" a feminine voice called cheerfully.

Naruto turned to see a woman with spiky purple hair tied up into a ponytail and pupilless light brown eyes grinning at her. A half-eaten stick of dango stuck out of her mouth.

"You're not supposed to be eating in a library, Mitiraishi-san," Naruto commented dryly as she continued her search.

The purple-haired woman smirked and shimmied up to the blonde genin, a movement accentuated by her mesh shirt and short orange miniskirt. "Aww, you're always so cold, Naruto-chan," she whined. "Just call me Anko, will you?"

Naruto had met Anko several years ago when Itachi had been chatting with his ANBU teammates. They had talked briefly and were now vaguely familiar with each other.

"I heard you made genin," Anko said, slightly more serious. "Under Kakashi of all people, too! He's as lazy as they come, but he has high standards."

Naruto nodded idly. "This is true," she agreed.

"Of course, now that you're a genin, it means that I can teach you!" Anko chirped. She looked as if she was about to sentence Naruto to death-by-bear-hug, but restrained herself.

Naruto raised a single delicate eyebrow. "Excuse me?" she questioned.

"Well, Academy students aren't supposed to be taught by shinobi not their parents. Something about 'immaturity' and 'not being able to handle advanced techniques.' Of course, this excludes clan techniques. See, I wanted to take you in after that…incident, but I couldn't apprentice you."

Naruto's eyebrow went higher. "You wanted to take me on as your apprentice," she stated flatly.

"Yup! You had always shown an interest in poisons, and that's my specialty. Also, even though you hide it, you're a real softie underneath that prickly shell of yours, so you'd do well as a field medic. I know a little about iryoujutsu, enough to get you started."

_'I suppose no harm can come of it,' _Naruto thought before she shrugged. "I accept," the blonde said.

If it was even possible, Anko's grin widened. "Well then, what are we waiting for?"

With that, Anko bodily dragged Naruto out of the library and towards the Shi no Mori, the source of most of Konoha's herbs. Thus began Naruto's introduction into the subtle art of poisons and medicine.

0o0o0o0o0o0

When Sakura got home, she ate dinner silently before walking upstairs to the room beside her own. It had been her grandmother's before she passed away ten years ago.

Sakura's grandmother, Haruno Mihu, had been a jounin and a powerful kunoichi in her own right. The stories her mother had told her had been what inspired Sakura to go to the Academy to become a kunoichi, although she had forgotten about that almost completely when Sasuke appeared. She had only remembered because of what Naruto had said to her earlier that day at the ramen stand.

_'I don't want to bring any more shame to the name of the Haruno,' _thought Sakura. _'Naruto was right; my affection for Sasuke-kun has been blinding my ambition to become a jounin like Mihu.' _

Mihu's room was practically empty; Sakura's parents had only kept Mihu's weapons and scrolls when they discovered that Sakura wanted to be a kunoichi. A plain tatami mat covered most of the floor and bookcases lined the room. Most of them were full of scrolls containing Mihu's personal notes. In the center of the room was a glass case holding Mihu's pride and joy: the pair katana known together as the "Futago no Guren." They were slightly shorter then most katana, but their quality could be seen in the faint blue gleam of the steel. Their hilts were red and their guards silver. Haruno Mihu had been a weapons specialist; she had been known to use at least ten different weapons with skill that still formed the basis of legends. The story of the Crimson Lady was still told in hushed tones in Iwagakure to that day.

Sakura opened the case silently and slid the swords into their sheaths. A white ribbon curled at the base of the glass case, and Sakura used it to attach the katana to her back. Then she picked out a single scroll from one of the many shelves; it read "Toute: Twin Swords."

A determined smile touched Sakura's face and she began to read eagerly.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Glossary

Hi no Ishi – Will of Fire

Kannabi – Where the Gods Do Not Help

Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen – Fourth Great Shinobi World War

Nanashi – Soft Foot

Hebi-Ryuu – Snake Style

Shunko –Flash Cry

Senkouken – Flash Fist

Shugoken – Guardian Fist

Goken – Strong Fist

Tsuru-Ryuu – Crane Style

Toute – Knife Hand

Koryuu – Old Style

Hi no Kuni – The Land of Fire

Mizu no Kuni – The Land of Water

Iryoujutsu – Medical Techniques

Shi no Mori – Forest of Death

Guren no Futago– Twins of the Red Lotus

Jutsu List

_Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu _

English: Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique

Rank: D

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Supplementary, Short-Range

Description: The user conceals themselves underground using chakra and, when they sense their opponent above them, they reach up and grab the opponent's ankles before burying them in the ground up to their neck. After this, the user uses chakra to get aboveground once again.

_Doton: Jimen Bara no Jutsu_

English: Earth Release: Ground Thorns

Rank: D

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, All Ranges

Description: After the necessary hand seals are preformed, the user slams their hand on to the ground or stomps their foot down. An area of land forms thorns or small spikes. It is basically a ninjutsu that creates makibishi out of the land itself.

_Katon: Karui Yakedo_

English: Fire Release: Minor Burn

Rank: D

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, Short-Range

Description: After the necessary hand seals are formed, the chakra in the user's hands heats up, causing whatever they touch to char or burn slightly. It can only be used for two minutes before the control provided by the hand seals wears off and the heat begins to burn the user's hands.

_Katon: Chou_

English: Fire Release: Butterfly

Rank: D

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Supplementary, All Ranges

Description: A butterfly created of fire is formed out of the user's chakra. The user can control it until the chakra that forms it runs out or it is dismissed. When the technique disperses, it does so in a harmless puff of orange flame.

_Raiton: Denkyuu_

English: Lightning Release: Light Bulb

Rank: D

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Supplementary

Description: After the hand seals are completed, an orb of glowing white electricity will begin to hover above the user's palm. It lasts as long as there is chakra to fuel it.

_Raiton: Raisentan_

English: Lightning Release: Lightning Tip

Rank: D

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, Short-Range

Description: Lightning chakra is guided to settle in the tip or tips of an electricity-conducting weapon. The chakra causes the area to glow a pale blue and leave a trail of pale blue light as it moves through the air. The edge of the weapon will cause an electrostatic shock to anybody who touches it.

The title of this chapter is New Divide by Linkin Park


	3. Scroll 1, Chapter 3: Remember the Name

Hi no Ishi, Scroll One: Kannabi

Full Summary: As Orochimaru and his allies threaten to topple Konoha, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke are becoming the leaders of their generation. The question is, will they survive the Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen or end up like the previous Sannin did - broken? AU diverging at the chuunin exams. FemNaru because I can. Team 7-centric.

Disclaimer: I got everything I wanted for my birthday except Naruto. Damn.

A/N: I'm still looking for a beta. PM me if you're interested!

_When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and the leaves will bud once again._

_~ Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage_

Chapter Three: Remember the Name

Naruto was early to their team meeting the next day; there was nobody else at Team 7's training grounds when she reached it. The blonde mentally shrugged before pulling out her taijutsu scroll and going through the motions for the basic moves. Gradually she sped up as the movements became more and more familiar. Eventually, Naruto began to mold chakra into her hands and feet as per Anko's advice when she preformed the attacks to make them more powerful.

She was rewarded with a resounding crack as the tree she had been practicing on collapsed, its trunk snapped cleanly in half by a single punch.

_'Well,' _Naruto thought dryly as she watched the tree crash to the ground, _'that certainly is useful.' _

She was shaken out of her thoughts by an angry-sounding, "Naruto, what the hell? What did the tree do to you?"

Naruto turned and glanced at Sakura, her expression blank. "It annoyed me," said Naruto, sounding completely serious.

That caused Sakura to pause. "…What? How the hell did a _tree, _who cannot _talk _or _move_ annoy you?"

"It was in my way," Naruto answered. On the outside her face was blank and emotionless, but in her head Naruto was laughing her ass off. Damn, it was fun to screw with people.

It was that moment that Naruto noticed the two katana tied to Sakura's back with a strip of white silk. "What's with the swords?" the Uzumaki queried.

Sakura blushed slightly and her hand automatically reached back to touch her swords. "They were my grandmother's. I decided it was time I learned to use them."

Naruto shrugged in acceptance.

"Hey, Naruto?" Sakura murmured

"Yeah?"  
"Uh…can I use you as a sparring partner? I've practiced the basics of using twin katana with the _Toute_ but it's hard to judge how I'm doing without actually fighting against a real person."

A mischievous smirk spread across Naruto's face as she slid into the basic stance of the _Hebi-Ryuu. _"Sure."

Sakura smiled before unsheathing her swords and slipping into her own stance.

Neither of them moved for several moments. They were both waiting for something – a blink, a slight twitch - a single sign. For Naruto, it was the slight tensing of Sakura's right hand around her katana as she prepared to attack.

Sakura began an attack, but it was not coordinated perfectly – there was a slight slip as her swords passed each other, and a lack of defense as both of her swords were used to attack. Naruto dodged most of Sakura's attacks and smacked aside the rest by slamming her forearms into the flat sides of Sakura's blades. As Sakura's arms swung forward with a lunging attack, Naruto ducked and took advantage of the short time between the Haruno's attacks by landing a solid punch enhanced with chakra to her diaphragm. Sakura was sent flying backwards.

"What on earth was that?" asked Sakura as she got up.

Naruto grinned maliciously. "Chakra released at the exact point of contact."

Sakura smirked. "Sounds fun. Shall we continue?"

Naruto returned her smirk, and Sakura got up before beginning her attack anew.

This time, Naruto preformed the hand seals for _Raiton: Raisentan _before pulling out two kunai. They began to glow faintly blue as she used them to parry Sakura's attack. Unfortunately for Sakura, she didn't bring her left hand back fast enough, and Naruto slammed the ring of her kunai into Sakura's knuckles. Sakura gasped in pain before dropper her sword and shaking her hand out. However, she didn't have any tome to recover as Naruto began her attack with renewed vigor. This time, it was Sakura who was put on the defensive as she blocked both of Naruto's kunai with a single sword.

Once again, Naruto's kunai slammed down, but this time it was to the wrist holding Sakura's remaining katana. Once again, Sakura dropped her sword. This time, however, she turned a fierce, green-eyed glare towards Naruto. The blonde merely gave a small smile in reply and said, "Rule number one for a weapons specialist: Never drop the weapon."

Sakura's glare darkened. "Shut up," she snapped, half embarrassed and half angry.

Naruto's smile widened so that it was almost malevolent before returning to her fighting stance.

Sakura slipped into her own stance, foregoing her swords for now. She went through an unfamiliar series of hand seals before muttering, _"Katon: Karui Yakedo." _Almost immediately, the air around Sakura's hands began to shimmer with heat.

The two kunoichi clashed again, and Naruto hissed in pain as Sakura's hand glanced off of her shoulder, leaving a minor burn there. It began healing immediately, thanks to the Kyuubi.

Sakura frowned, but renewed her assault. Naruto replied in turn, slipping around most of the Haruno's attacks and landing a few powerful hits in critical areas such as the wrists, knees, and elbows.

Sakura was slowing; her breathing was harsher and she was beginning to sweat. Naruto frowned and said, "You really don't have a lot of stamina, do you?"

"I'm trying to fix that, in case you haven't noticed!" Sakura snarled between harsh gasps for air.

"Well then, come on," Naruto challenged.

Sakura did so, and grabbed her swords on the way up.

Just as the kunoichi had began their fight anew, a snarky voice that Naruto immediately identified as Sasuke's asked, "What on earth are you two doing?"

Naruto turned and glared slightly at Sasuke. "We're having lesbian sex, what does it look like?" she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice like poison. "We're sparring, idiot."

"Naruto!" shouted Sakura, horrified, "don't be so rude to Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto sighed in exasperation as she ducked a particularly brutal slice towards her midsection.

"If you're sparring, you won't mind if I join," said Sasuke as he aimed a quick punch towards Naruto's ribcage. The blonde dodged and sighed again. "Fine. It's a three-way spar now."

Sasuke smirked and proceeded to use Naruto and Sakura as test subjects for his _Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu._

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi stared blankly at the scene he was confronted with. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto were engaging in a three-way spar, and none of them seemed to be against using ninjutsu. They had made a fine mess of the training ground; several trees had been collapsed and multiple areas of ground were smoking and charred, probably from Sasuke's more advanced katon ninjutsu.

Sakura leaped towards Naruto, both of her katana _– 'Wait, where did she get katana?' _wondered Kakashi – swinging forward in a deadly arc. Naruto leaped up and was about to preform an ax kick on Sakura but was interrupted by Sasuke, who preformed a flying sidekick and smashed into the blonde's side, sending her ground. Naruto rolled to lessen the impact before leaping up and attacking Sasuke.

"Okay, that's enough!" Kakashi called.

Immediately all three genin stopped moving and turned towards Kakashi. The faint, satisfactory smile on Sasuke's face, Sakura's cheerful grin, and Naruto's smirk was enough to keep him from scolding the three of them for sparring while he wasn't there.

"Well, I guess all three of you are warmed up enough," Kakashi commented dryly. "Get out your scrolls and practice your taijutsu."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Later that afternoon, Kakashi gave his team the techniques he had been promising. The C-Rank he gave them was the clone for each of their elements – _Ho Bunshin _for Sakura, _Kaminari Bunshin _for Naruto, and _Tsuchi Bunshin _for Sasuke. Their D-Rank techniques were _Raiton: Kaminari Senbon no Jutsu _for Naruto, _Katon: Kakyuu no Jutsu _for Sakura, and _Doton: Da-to Tsumemono wo Keisi no Jutsu _for Sasuke.

All three of them were doing well. Sasuke was getting along reasonably well with his teammates, Sakura had mostly stopped drooling over Sasuke, and Naruto…was as much an enigma as she had been the first day Kakashi had met her.

There were times when Kakashi really questioned the competence of the Academy teachers. The Academy grading scale was completely inaccurate. Naruto's taijutsu was as good as Sasuke's, especially now that she had figured out how to increase her strength and speed with chakra. She didn't have any ninjutsu except for what Kakashi had taught her and the basic Academy techniques, but she was no slouch there either.

Sakura, on the other hand, had been grossly underestimated. Her file from the Academy had clearly stated that her abilities lied in genjutsu and other support-type areas. However, Sakura had easily proved them wrong by training with a ferocity that could only be matched by her teammates. Her stamina was already increasing.

Sasuke's file was the closest to correct. If anything, it had overestimated him. It was filled with compliments and quite a few exaggerations. The only completely honest account of Sasuke's abilities was Umino Iruka's, his team's teacher for their last two years in the Academy. Iruka had said that while Sasuke's taijutsu and especially his ninjutsu were above average, his genjutsu was average. Iruka had also commented that Sasuke's state of mind might not be entirely stable.

Luckily, Sasuke had proved to be at least salvageable. Apparently his spar with his teammates that morning had given him a healthy respect for Sakura's swords and Naruto's chakra-enhanced taijutsu. Already, the act of distancing himself from his teammates was starting to wear thin. Kakashi supposed it was a good thing that Sakura and Naruto had been paired with Sasuke as his teammates, as they were the best people to bring him out of his shell. Naruto's patience seemingly had no limits and she never lost her temper unless you counted her sarcastic comments that she seemed to spout out every time somebody spoke to her. Naruto remained calm in the face of Sasuke's irritation and arrogance while systematically giving him advice and teaching him humility. Sakura, underneath her fanaticism for Sasuke, was determined and kind. She wouldn't give up on becoming Sasuke's friend until she either died or succeeded.

Really, the Sandaime had given him a gift from heaven in the disguise of a devil's seed. All of the other jounin had given him pity-filled looks when he reported that he had passed Team 7. They all thought that Team 7 was a lost cause. Kakashi smirked. _'Oh, how wrong they were,' _he thought. His team would definitely be ready for the chuunin exam in six months, and they were going to kick ass.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto was going over the parts of the body, what each of them did, how they could be injured, and how to heal them. It was a mountainous project.

"So, what did you do during your team meeting today?" Anko asked as she lazed against a tree, supervising Naruto's studying.

"We worked mostly on taijutsu in the morning, but Kakashi-sensei brought two new techniques for each of us."

"Ooh, what did you get?"

"_Kaminari Bunshin _and _Raiton: Kaminari Senbon."_

"He taught you _Kaminari Bunshin _when he could have taught you _Kage Bunshin_? Damn, that's just a waste of time."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Naruto-chan, the _Kage Bunshin _is a B-Rank technique that creates real clones. Also, when a clone is dispelled, all of its memories are transferred to the user. But the catch is they split your chakra into equal parts, so if you make one, the clone has half of your chakra. And then there's _Tajuu Kage Bunshin_; that's basically a beefed up version of the _Kage Bunshin_, but it uses a lot of chakra. For this reason, it's classified as a kinjutsu, but for somebody like you with an inhuman amount of chakra, it's the perfect technique."

Naruto winced slightly at the phrase 'inhuman amount of chakra'. _'I guess that's one other thing I have to thank the Kyuubi for,' _she thought grudgingly. "So are you going to teach me this _Kage Bunshin _or what?"

Anko's smirk widened into a sadistic grin as her hands created a seal that looked similar to a plus sign.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura's mouth curved up into a serene smile as she went through the basic techniques for her swords. The moon was beginning to rise, and the sun was already halfway covered by the horizon.

The _Toute _was interesting in the fact that, after the basic stances, it branched off into five other styles, each named after an animal. The _Ookami, _the _Tori, _the _Tora, _the _Hyou, _and the _Ryuujin. _A true master of the _Toute _was able to use all five styles, and Sakura was determined to do her grandmother proud.

Sakura slipped into the first stance the _Ookami._

_Wolf leaps forward and lashes out._

Sakura's swords flickered forward towards an imaginary enemy with impressive speed before she quickly jumped backwards.

_Bird flies in and strikes fast._

Sakura was balanced on the balls of her feet, ready to move at a moment's notice. Quickly, her swords flickered forward and retracted a second later as she took a lower stance.

_Tiger crouches and leaps._

Sakura jumped upwards and brought her swords down as she descended in a move that would be almost impossible to block.

_Leopard awaits the right moment to kill._

Sakura took up the stance of the _Hyou _for a few moments before lashing out with a quick slash to her imaginary opponent's midsection.

_Dragon King fights back._

With a quick stab and a deft twirl of her other sword, Sakura sliced off the head of her imaginary opponent.

0o0o0o0o0o0

A week after the bell test, Kakashi had all of his students sit down instead of practice their taijutsu like he normally would have. They all looked at him with various degrees of confusion; they were already getting used to Team 7's training schedule. Kakashi would have to change that; habit was a shinobi's enemy.

"Today I called you all here to discuss something along the lines of your future as shinobi. As their careers progress, most shinobi tent to gravitate towards a certain field. For example, I am a ninjutsu specialist, while others focus on genjutsu, taijutsu, iryoujutsu, fuuinjutsu…the possibilities are just about endless. In the long run, it's often better for people to start in their chosen field as early as possible to maximize their expertise…but then there's the problem of being over-specialized; if you are a master of genjutsu but have virtually no other techniques, you will inevitably eventually meet somebody who can defeat you in your specified area. For those reasons, I ant to hear a little bit about what you plan on doing skill-wise so I can help you out as much as I can," said Kakashi.

Sakura answered first. "I want to focus on training with weapons," she confessed. "But I also want to learn how to use more katon techniques and I would also like to learn a little genjutsu."

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. _'Sakura is already on her way to mastering her swords and katon ninjutsu. Genjutsu shouldn't be too hard to teach her with her chakra control.' _"That's doable," the jounin said.

"I'll probably work mostly with ninjutsu and taijutsu," Sasuke decided. "Once I awaken my Sharingan, it will be a lot easier for me to learn that sort of stuff."

Once again, Kakashi nodded.

"I like my taijutsu style," Naruto said flatly. "With my chakra-enhanced strength, I would be an idiot not to specialize in taijutsu. But I'm learning iryoujutsu from Mitiraishi-san, and I like working with poison. I would also like to learn some fuuinjutsu; it sounds like a useful skill to have."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the "Mitiraishi-san" part. "You know Anko?" he asked, disbelief coloring his voice. Although, he really shouldn't have been so surprised; Naruto had used her name when she was henged into Chiyoko.

"Yeah," confirmed Naruto. "She offered to teach me the basics of iryoujutsu and poisons the other day. I accepted."

Kakashi nodded warily and mentally prayed that Naruto wouldn't turn into a mini Anko. One of them was bad enough. "Alright. Sakura, you should probably keep working with your own scrolls. Sasuke, we'll work on gradually expanding your repertoire of ninjutsu. Naruto, I'll help you with your taijutsu and I'll see what I can do for the fuuinjutsu part, but I can't help you much with your studies in iryoujutsu," he said and shrugged apologetically.

To her credit, Naruto accepted this with good grace and a simple nod of her head.

"Alright!" chirped Kakashi, clapping his hands together and eye-smiling. "Get to work on your taijutsu!"

All three of them grimaced as Kakashi pulled out three sets of weights, still smiling cheerfully.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Team 7 quickly fell into their own rhythm. Sakura's stamina and skill with her swords increased, as did Naruto's speed and skills in iryoujutsu. Sasuke proved himself to be a talented heir to the Uchiha bloodline; he mastered every ninjutsu he came across and asked for more. They did missions every other day and already had a record for being very productive with the help of their various clones. Not that D-Ranks weren't irritating; it was just that any time they would complain, Kakashi's eye would take on an evil glint and his gloved hand would reach towards his shuriken holster like it did every time Team 7 played Hunt. Sasuke shivered at the thought of that torture hiding in the disguise of training. Sasuke would swear under oath that Kakashi had a sadistic streak a mile wide.

It was very effective, to say the least.

It was a month after their team had been formed and Sasuke _still _couldn't find anything detailing how exactly Kakashi had preformed _Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu _without hand seals. It was rather frustrating.

Just like every night for the past few months, Sasuke was searching through the Uchiha Clan archives after his training was complete when his hands passed over a scroll labeled _"The Theory Behind Elemental Ninjutsu and Hand Seals."_

Sasuke pulled the scroll out of the shelves and unrolled it, quickly taking in the information stored within the scroll.

It was basically a compilation of observations of hand seals and how each one molded chakra. It was definitely useful information, but not what he was looking for. As Sasuke continued reading, he reached a section that read:

_Some shinobi do not even need hand seals to complete elemental ninjutsu. These shinobi are the ones who have completed the art of "elemental manipulation" for the particular element used in the technique. However, a certain amount of expertise in shape manipulation is needed as well._

Unfortunately, that was all the scroll said about sealless ninjutsu. However, he now had two phrases to look up: elemental manipulation and shape manipulation.

It was another week before he found anything.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sasuke muttered angrily under his breath as he skimmed through scroll after scroll. _'Still nothing!' _the thought furiously, letting out a low growl. Sasuke breathed out through his nose and used his extensive training in self-control to suppress his annoyance.

Sighing once, he picked out the next scroll and unrolled it.

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. _'I've actually found something!' _he thought excitedly.

The scroll he had picked up went into great detail about what exactly elemental and shape manipulation were.

It turned out that elemental manipulation was the changing of chakra from one element to another, which changed its properties and characteristics. On the other hand, shape manipulation was an advanced form of chakra control that changed the shape and form of the chakra. Together, they were what lead towards creating a new technique. Different sequences of hand seals transformed the user's chakra into a certain element and form, but if, say, the user's element was water and they were trying to preform a high-ranking Katon, it would likely fail or simply not be as effective as it should have been. The best way to describe it would be that chakra had a "resistance" to ninjutsu not of its element. Of course, this problem could be gotten rid of by mastering manipulating that particular element.

A slow, small smile spread across Sasuke's face when he read the steps needed to achieve perfect elemental manipulation. It would take a while, but if a Sharingan couldn't copy it, it would be well worth the effort in the end.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The next day found Sasuke sitting in the middle of the clearing of Team 7's usual training grounds. They didn't actually train there every day; sometimes they would go to the other training areas to, in Kakashi's words, "get them used to disadvantageous environments." Sasuke personally thought that it was just another sick joke of Kakashi's.

Sasuke currently held a clump of dirt in his hand. His eyes were shut in concentration and his chakra flared at seemingly random intervals. Already, small sections of the dirt wad were starting to turn to stone. _'All of that work with my Doton ninjutsu really paid off,' _he thought, suddenly grateful for Kakashi's insistence that all three of them work with D- and C-Rank ninjutsu before moving up. _'The first part of the Doton elemental manipulation is basically the _Da-to Tsumemono wo Keisi no Jutsu _without hand seals.'_

The first step of mastering Doton elemental manipulation was taking a wad of dirt and hardening it so that it was rock.

"What are you doing?" Naruto's calm voice asked from just behind him.

Sasuke started slightly and just barely managed to resist jumping. He sent a nasty glare at the blonde, to which she just smirked in reply.

He let out an irritated sigh and explained, "I'm working on elemental manipulation."

"I've heard a little bit about it. Can I see?" she questioned, motioning to the scroll in front of Sasuke. The Uchiha only grunted in reply. Naruto snorted and took the scroll anyway. "Hmm…so it looks like the first exercise for the lightning affinity is just running lightning through your body…_Tajuu Kage Bunshin_!"

Sasuke blinked in surprise as Naruto flooded the training ground with clones. He knew that she had the ability to use _Kage Bunshin, _but damn…was making that many even humanly possible?

Naruto smirked at him before returning his scroll and disappearing into her crowd of clones, who quickly got to work.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you and Naruto doing?"

Sasuke turned to see Sakura approaching, a look of curiosity clearly displayed on her face. "Practicing elemental manipulation," the Uchiha grunted.

"Awesome!" smiled Sakura.

Sasuke wordlessly handed her the scroll.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi was later then usual that day; instead of the usual three hours or less, it took him a good four and a half hours to reach training ground 27. To be fair, it wasn't entirely his fault; his alarm clock broke, he ran into a black cat, he had to help an old lady save her cat…

Okay, maybe it was his fault.

"Yes, I've got it!"

Kakashi looked up from his _Icha Icha Paradise _to see Naruto standing in the middle of the clearing, her left hand stretched out towards the sky, lightning lacing around her air, glowing a pale blue.

His book fell out of his hand and dropped to the floor and he struggled just as hard to pick his jaw off of the figurative floor. _'What. The. Fuck?' _was all he managed to think through his shock. _'Elemental manipulation? Where the hell did she - !'_

To Kakashi's right, Sakura's chakra flared slightly and a orange flicker of flame hovered above her palm before going out a second later. Sasuke was holding a clump of dirt, some of which shined suspiciously in the light. _'All three of them? Jeez…I have got to have the three most surprising genin ever.' _However, a small, proud smile spread across his face underneath his mask. _'I have got to be the luckiest jounin-sensei ever. I got an awesome team.'_

That day, Kakashi decided to let his team practice with their affinities instead of asking for a C-Rank mission like he had intended. Tomorrow.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Glossary

Hi no Ishi – Will of Fire

Kannabi – Where the Gods Do Not Help

Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen – Fourth Great Shinobi World War

Katon – Fire Release

Toute – Knife Hand

Kinjutsu – Forbidden Technique

Ookami – Wolf

Tori – Bird

Tora – Tiger

Hyou – Leopard

Ryuujin – Dragon King

Iryoujutsu – Medical Techniques

Fuuinjutsu – Sealing Techniques

Doton – Earth Release

Jutsu List

_Ho Bunshin_

English: Fire Clone

Rank: C

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Supplementary

Description: The user creates a clone of fire. This clone can be dispelled in one hit, and will dispel in a burst of flame that will injure the attacker if they are near the clone. The clone can use weapons, non-elemental ninjutsu, and ninjutsu of it's own element. The clone only has as much chakra as its creator gives it.

_Kaminari Bunshin_

English: Lightning Clone

Rank: C

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Supplementary

Description: The user creates a clone of lightning. This clone can be dispelled in one hit, and will dispel in a burst of electricity that will electrocute anything near it. The clone can use weapons, non-elemental ninjutsu, and ninjutsu of it's own element. The clone only has as much chakra as its creator gives it.

_Tsuchi Bunshin_

English: Earth Clone

Rank: C

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Supplementary

Description: The user creates a clone of earth. This clone can be dispelled in one hit, and will dispel in a pile of mud. The clone can use weapons, non-elemental ninjutsu, and ninjutsu of it's own element. The clone only has as much chakra as its creator gives it.

_Raiton: Kaminari Senbon_

English: Lightning Release: Lightning Senbon

Rank: D

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, Long-Range

Description: The user weaves the necessary hand seals as the focus chakra to their hands. Senbon created out of lighting appear between each of the user's fingers, giving them eight senbon before the technique needs to be preformed again. These senbon can then be thrown like ordinary ones.

_Katon: Kakyuu no Jutsu_

English: Fire Release: Fire Ball

Rank: D

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, Mid-Range

Description: After the hand seals are finished, the user breathes out a medium-sized ball of flame. This is generally considered to be a watered-down version of _Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu_.

_Doton: Da-toTsumemono wo Keisi no Jutsu_

English: Earth Release: Dirt Wad Formation

Rank: D

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Supplementary

Description: After the hand seals are completed, the user picks up a handful of dirt and then forms it into a rock any shape they want. With practice, these can become as hard as rock. The size of the object is limited to the amount of dirt.

_Kage Bunshin_

English: Shadow Clone

Rank: B

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Supplementary

Description: After the hand seal is formed, the user's chakra is split evenly into clones. Unlike the basic clone, these clones are solid and able to interact with the world around them. They are able to preform all of the techniques the original could as long as they have enough chakra. They dispel with one or two solid hits depending on whether or not the user has mastered the use of _Kage Bunshin. _

_Tajuu Kage Bunshin_

English: Multiple Shadow Clone

Rank: A

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Supplementary, Kinjutsu

Description: This is a technique that allows the user to create a virtual army of _Kage Bunshin. _It is forbidden because it uses such a massive amount of chakra that most people will die from its use.

The title of this chapter is Remember the Name by Fort Minor & Styles of Beyond


	4. Scroll 1, Chapter 4: Frontline

Hi no Ishi, Scroll One: Kannabi

Full Summary: As Orochimaru and his allies threaten to topple Konoha, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto are becoming the leaders of their generation. The question is, will they survive the Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen or end up like the previous Sannin – broken? AU diverging at the Chuunin Exams. FemNaru because I can. Team 7-centric.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Once again, I'm looking for a beta.

Glossary

Hi no Ishi - Will of Fire

Kannabi - Where the Gods Do Not Help

Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen – The Fourth Great Shinobi World War

Nami no Kuni – The Land of Waves

Nukenin – Lit. "Runaway Ninja." Translated as Missing-Nin.

Hi no Kuni – The Land of Fire

Hitai-ate – Forehead Protector

Sharingan no Kakashi – Sharingan Kakashi or Kakashi of the Sharingan.

Kopi Ninja no Kakashi – Kakashi the Copy Ninja

Suiton – Water Release

Makibishi – Caltrops

Chigirigakure – Hidden in the Bloody Mist

Oinin – Hunter Ninja

_Those that break the rules are scum. But those that abandon their comrades are lower then scum. If I'm going to be called scum either way, I'd rather break the rules! And if that's not being a proper shinobi, I'll destroy that idea!_

_- Uchiha Obito_

Chapter Four: Frontline

Sakura handed the wretched cat back to the Daimyo's wife, and smirked inwardly as the woman squeezed it so hard it almost choked. Just behind her, she could hear Naruto muttering, "Squeeze it harder, squeeze it harder…"

"No wonder it ran away," mumbled Sasuke. "I'd run away too, if I were him."

"Good job, Team 7," the Sandaime said as he picked up a scroll labeled 'D-Rank'. "For your next mission, you can choose between babysitting Homura-san's granddaughter, weeding the Kirisawa's potato patch…"

"I think they're ready for a C-Rank," Kakashi interrupted.

Sakura perked up at that. _'Finally!' _she thought. _'Maybe now we can do something besides stupid chores!'_

The Hokage raised a single eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright…I have one that might suit your team. It's protection detail for a bridge builder from Nami no Kuni. Oyone, send him in!"

A brown-haired kunoichi standing by the door opened it to reveal an old, gray-haired man holding a bottle of sake. He was obviously drunk. "Are they my protection? They don't look like much, especially the midget with the weird face," he declared.

Sakura could sense the irritated spike in Naruto's chakra and winced. Kakashi chuckled sheepishly and smiled at the man. "Don't worry. I assure you we're up to the task. Besides, I'm a jounin."

The old man grumbled before saying, "I'm Tazuna, the master bridge builder. I'm leaving in an hour at the east gate."

Kakashi nodded before turning to his students. "You heard him. Be at the east gate in an hour.

Naruto waited until Kakashi had disappeared in a puff of smoke and said dryly, "I'm now taking bets for how late Sensei will be."

Sakura snickered and Sasuke smirked. Tazuna just threw the three genin a confused glance as they walked out the door and towards their separate houses.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Pay up," Naruto smirked, holding out her hand when Kakashi arrived at the gates half an hour late.

Sasuke scowled at her before surrendering his five hundred ryo. (1) Sakura did the same, an irritable twitch visible in her fingers.

Tazuna gave Kakashi a short glare before turning and walking out the gate.

0o0o0o0o0o0

It was sudden – the attack came out of seemingly nowhere. One second, Sakura was enjoying the sunshine and the next a bladed chain had been wrapped around Kakashi by two cloaked Kiri-nin. They tugged, and the chain literally shred Kakashi in half, ripping him to pieces. Sakura couldn't help but let out a shriek of surprise and horror.

The Kiri-nin then rushed towards her, and she quickly unsheathed her swords to execute a hasty block, stopping one of the shinobi's clawed gauntlets.

Before the other could come around and attack, Naruto came to Sakura's rescue by rushing up and slamming her leg into his gut, sending him flying. The remaining shinobi quickly detached the chain from his gauntlet before renewing his attack on Sakura. This time, Sasuke attempted to slash the Kiri-nin's neck from behind, but he managed to dodge. As he turned around to deal with Sasuke, Naruto knocked him out by pinching a single nerve on his neck.

Sakura looked down, ashamed. _'What…what the hell? Is that really all I can do? I've been training for this past month but I'm still so _weak_! Sasuke-kun and Naruto had to save me. God damn it!'_

Sakura's fists clenched, her fingernails digging into the soft flesh of her palm, leaving bloody crescents there.

"Yo!"

Sakura whirled around, her green eyes wide with shock at the familiar voice. "Kakashi-sensei?" she asked, confused.

Naruto tapped her shoulder and wordlessly pointed to the splintered log where Kakashi's dead body should have been. _'_Kawarimi_,' _Sakura realized.

"Good job, you guys," Kakashi congratulated. "Tazuna-san…"  
"What is it?" the bridge builder demanded, sounding flustered.

"These two are low chuunin-level Kirigakure nukenin," observed Kakashi. "I could have killed them in an instant if I had wanted to, but there was something I needed to figure out first – who were those two after? Were they just attacking a random group of Konoha shinobi in hopes of getting some bounty money, or were they after you?"

"Hey, wait a second here!" Tazuna snapped.

"They went straight for you," Kakashi interrupted. "We weren't told there were shinobi after you. Our mission was to protect you from roving bands of gangs and thieves until you completed the bridge. If shinobi are after you, this should have been marked as B-Rank mission. I'm sure you had your reasons, but hiding details like that from shinobi is not generally a good idea. Either way, we are now operating outside the range of our duties."

"Sensei, I think we should continue," Sakura stated resolutely.

Kakashi turned back to his student, looking slightly shocked. "Sakura, if we continue this mission, we run the risk of fighting jounin-level shinobi. You guys could _die _if we continue," he explained.

"That's what you're for, Sensei," Naruto pointed out, her voice unusually soft. "You're a very good shinobi, and we're not helpless. I agree with Sakura."

"I say we continue as well," Sasuke commented. "The true strength of a shinobi comes out during life-and-death battle, anyways."

Kakashi sighed. "Tazuna-san, please tell us why there are shinobi after you. Depending on your answer we may continue; it is my duty as the team leader to decide whether or not this is worth the risk of getting my team killed," he said harshly.

Tazuna grimaced and answered, "You're right; this mission is most likely outside of what you are required to do. There's a dangerous man after my life."

"Who?" Kakashi demanded.

"You've probably heard of him before," Tazuna murmured. "His name is Gatou."

"Wait, Gatou from the Gatou Company? I've heard he's one of the world's wealthiest people…" Kakashi said, his face serious.

"Yes. Officially he's a legitimate businessman, running a wealthy corporation. But underneath the surface, he sells drugs and other illegal items on the black market, using thugs and nukenin to take over towns and small countries. He's not exactly a nice man.

"About a year ago, he set his eyes on Nami no Kuni. Using violence and money, he quickly gained a chokehold on my country's shipping industry, our lifeline. Gatou now has almost complete control over all of the money in Nami no Kuni. The only thing he has to fear is the bridge I'm building to Hi no Kuni, which will allow people to freely trade with the mainland."

"So, since you're building the bridge you're in the way," observed Sakura. "These shinobi must have been hired by Gatou then."

"But why didn't you just tell Konoha that shinobi were after you when you hired us?" asked Kakashi.

"While Nami no Kuni used to be very prosperous, everybody has lost a lot of money since Gatou took over. Even the Daimyo is poor. Me and my neighbors had to combine most of our money just to pay for a C-Rank. There's no way we would have been able to pay for a more expensive B-Rank mission. If you guys quit now, I'll definitely die, but…don't worry about it! My grandson will just cry for a few days and my daughter will live a bitter life hating all Konoha shinobi! But it's not your fault! Not at all!"

Kakashi sighed. "Well…I can't in good conscience leave a country in that sort of state. I guess we don't really have a choice but to continue."

Sakura's jaw dropped slightly. _'I never knew Kakashi would be such a sucker for sob stories,' _she thought.

"Come on," said Tazuna. "I know a sailor who will be willing to take us to Nami no Kuni."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi clenched his jaw slightly as he watched the boat float away after it deposited the five of them on the bank of Nami no Kuni. _'If we get attacked again, it will be by jounin, not chuunin. Could this get any worse?' _he wondered irritably.

Only a few minutes later, something rustled in the bushes. Kakashi's head whipped towards the sound, but Naruto, who was less careful with her shuriken, immediately threw one towards the sound.

"Oi, brat, don't go around throwing things at random! It's dangerous!" Tazuna shouted.

The four shinobi ignored him and walked towards the area where the rustling had come from. Kakashi pulled aside the bushes to reveal a white rabbit, frozen with fear. Naruto's shuriken was buried into a tree trunk just above the rabbit's head.

"Naruto!" Sakura snapped. "You've killed it!"

"Sakura, what color is the rabbit's coat?" Kakashi asked, taking advantage of the situation by giving his students a lesson.

"White, of course, but what -? Wait, that's a snow rabbit and it's spring, so that means it's been kept as a pet," said Sakura. Suddenly, understanding dawned on her. "…Or to be used for _Kawarimi_!"

"Everybody down!" Kakashi ordered as he dropped to the ground. Sakura and Naruto immediately followed his instructions while Sasuke dragged Tazuna down with him.

A millisecond later, a giant sword swung over the group in a fashion reminiscent of a Frisbee. It dug itself into a tree before a man jumped on top of it.

Spiky black hair? Check.

Striped pants? Check.

Bandages covering his neck and lower face? Check.

Oddly-pattered arm warmers? Check.

Momochi Zabuza. Shit.

"Guys, stay back," Kakashi instructed. "This guy's on a whole other level. Still, this might be a little difficult if I don't use this…"

With that, Kakashi lifted up his tilted hitai-ate to reveal his Sharingan. He felt the slight flicker of shock in Sasuke's normally calm chakra and the slight confusion and curiosity in Sakura's. Naruto's, on the other hand, didn't even twitch. Her signature remained the same as it always did; calm and cold as ice, but as fierce and sharp as fire. There was no surprise or uncertainty there. Filing away that little tidbit of information for later, Kakashi returned his full attention to the fight on his hands.

"Ah, what an honor, to finally meet the famed Sharingan no Kakashi…But I'm only here for the old man. D'ya think you could just make it easier on us all and hand him over?" the Kirigakure nukenin asked calmly.

"That's a stupid question," Kakashi retorted coolly. "You three, assume the Manji Formation. Don't interfere with this; you really could be killed."

His students quickly did as ordered and surrounded Tazuna on all sides, each in their own battle stance.

"When I was a member of Kirigakure's ANBU, we had a Bingo Book entry on you," Zabuza commented idly. "You had supposedly copied over a thousand techniques, earning you the name Kopi Ninja no Kakashi. Now, let's skip the rest of the pleasantries and get to the fighting, eh? I have an old man to kill."

With that, Zabuza yanked his sword out of the tree and leaped away, landing in the lake across from Kakashi, his team, and Tazuna. Underneath his mask, the silver-haired jounin grimaced. _'Zabuza is famous for his Suiton ninjutsu, and we're right by a lake…this isn't good.'_

Suddenly, Zabuza's chakra spiked and a thick mist began to form, blocking the Kiri nukenin from view.

"_Ninpou_," came Zabuza's ominous murmur, "_Kirigakure no Jutsu_."

"He's gone!" Tazuna exclaimed, obviously panicked at Zabuza's disappearance.

"He'll come after me first," Kakashi said, his voice sharp and emotionless. "Momochi Zabuza was known as an expert of silent killing. You wouldn't know you were dead until your throat was slit…and it's not like I can use the Sharingan perfectly, so be careful."

This time, even Naruto's chakra tensed in preparation for a fight.

A dark voice rang out through the mist. "Eight points…"

"What?" Sakura squeaked in surprise.

"Liver, lungs, spine, heart, clavicle vein, jugular vein, kidneys, heart…so many choices. Which one should I go after?"

At that moment, Zabuza's chakra spiked with killing intent, and Kakashi responded in kind.

The fear in his genins' chakra increased. Surprisingly, it was Sasuke's chakra that held the most. "Don't worry," Kakashi said to reassure his students. "The only way you guys are going to get hurt is over my dead body. I don't let my comrades die."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Kakashi…"

Kakashi swore mentally as Zabuza appeared in the center of his genin students, sword held back and prepared to swing. In less than an instant, Kakashi had knocked Sakura and Naruto aside, shoved a kunai into Zabuza's stomach, and used chakra to attach his free hand to Zabuza's blade and prevent it from moving.

But instead of blood coming out, there was…water?

_'Shit! _Mizu Bunshin_!' _realized Kakashi as the clone collapsed into a puddle of water. He wasn't quite fast enough to dodge Zabuza's giant sword.

It was a good thing he had replaced his original body with a _Mizu Bunshin._ The clone that Zabuza sliced open collapsed into a puddle of water. The silver-haired jounin rose up behind Zabuza and placed a kunai at his neck. "It's over," he intoned quietly.

Then, Zabuza chuckled. "It's over? You can't beat me with your idiotic imitations."

"…I think it's me who should say 'It's over.'"

Kakashi's eyes widened and he twisted his head to see Zabuza standing behind him. _'Another clone?' _Kakashi thought as he sliced through the neck of the Zabuza in front of him. As he had suspected, it collapsed into water.

Kakashi ducked the true Zabuza's sword, only to be caught in the solar plexus with a brutal kick that sent him flying towards the lake. Kakashi reached into his pouch and threw out a handful of makibishi to delay Zabuza's movement for at least a little while.

Kakashi landed in the lake as Zabuza disappeared, only to show up again behind him. _'Wait a second…this water is heavy. What -?'_

His mental question was answered when Zabuza muttered, "_Suiton: Suirou no Jutsu_!"

_'Shit!'_ was all that ran through Kakashi's mind when water raised up to surround him on all sides, forming an orb that he knew would be practically impenetrable. Zabuza pushed a single arm inside of the prison, keeping it in place

"You may have been trying to regroup in the water, but that was a big mistake," Zabuza said arrogantly. Kakashi could practically see the victorious smirk under the nukenin's bandages, and his eyes narrowed reflexively with anger.  
"This is an inescapable prison, as I'm sure you know. It makes things a lot more difficult if you can move, you know? Now, to take care of the brats…" muttered Zabuza.

_'He's stronger than I expected,' _thought Kakashi. _'His Bingo Book entry is out of date.' _

Zabuza formed a clone, which stepped on to the bank on which the genin element of Team 7 was standing. The clone took one look at the three genin and snickered, "Wearing hitai-ate and acting like real shinobi…but you know what? A real shinobi is one who has survived numerous brushes with death. Basically, once you're good enough to be listed in a Bingo Book, you're a shinobi. You guys aren't shinobi; you're just brats!"

The clone sped up and slammed his foot into Sasuke's face, knocking off the Uchiha's hitai-ate and sending him flying. _'This is bad,' _Kakashi thought, fear for his students coursing through his system. _'This is really, really bad!' _"Guys! Take Tazuna-san and get out of here! You have no chance of beating him! While he's holding me here, he can't move, and his clone can't move very far from his real body! Just run away now!"

The extreme panic in his normally apathetic voice was unfamiliar.

It was that moment that Sasuke's body language and fingers began twitching in the code that Naruto and Sakura had devised on one of their days off. Kakashi gritted his teeth _'God damn it! Listen to me, you idiots!' _"What the hell do you think you're doing!" he shouted. "Get out of here!"

_ /Sakura. Clone. With me. Naruto. Original,/ _Sasuke ordered, ignoring his sensei.

Zabuza snickered, "You know, by the time I was your age, my hands were already dyed with blood."

That successfully froze the three genin in place.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed at Zabuza out of his peripheral vision. "Kirigakure no Kijin," he muttered.

"Ah, so you've heard about it," commented Zabuza.

"Years ago, Kirigakure was nicknamed Chigirigakure for its brutality. The genin exam was a horrible practice – each Academy student was pitted against another in a fight to the death. And you must remember, these are people who shared their dreams together and eaten from the same bowl.

"Ten years ago, these exams had to be changed because of one boy. Without hesitation, he, who was not even qualified to be a shinobi, butchered over a hundred of the graduating students."

"Yes, those were the days…" murmured Zabuza, an insane glint in his eye.

Sakura tensed, but began to weave hand seals. Naruto disappeared in a burst of speed, only stopping once she was on top of the lake.

The clone turned and was about to attack her, but stopped when Sakura muttered, "_Katon: Kasai no Ame no Jutsu_!"

The Haruno fired a single fireball into the air, which then separated into fifteen different parts and flew towards the cloned, surrounding it with balls of flame. The clone snorted before preforming a few hand seals and creating a wall of water that quickly extinguished the fireballs.

By this time, Naruto had thrown a handful of shuriken and kunai towards the original, who managed to weave between the deadly projectiles without taking his arm out of the prison he had created around Kakashi. Naruto danced out of range of Zabuza's deadly sword before executing a series of hand seals for her own technique.

Sasuke and Sakura attacked the clone in tandem, Sakura preforming a quick _Housenka no Jutsu _while Sasuke sent out a barrage of shuriken. Sasuke rushed forward, careful to avoid the clone's sword, and aimed a punch at the clone's midsection. The clone dodged with a smirk that morphed into shock when he was caught in the back with Sakura's _Katon: Kakyuu_.

Naruto created a mass of lightning senbon and sent them flying towards Zabuza. The blonde quickly created a _Kaminari Bunshin _while he was distracted, and instructed it to throw a fuuma shuriken at the former Kiri-nin's back. Zabuza sensed the coming danger too late, and had to rip his arm out of his prison to dodge the shuriken. Once free, Zabuza snatched the shuriken out of the air and whirled around to face Naruto, his face apocalyptic with rage. "You damn brat!" he roared as he swung the fuuma shuriken forward, ready to fling it at Naruto at a moment's notice.

Kakashi took advantage of his freedom, and stopped the shuriken's movement with the metal plating of his glove. Zabuza flinched visibly at the Sharingan wielder's fierce glare.

"Good job," said Kakashi. "You guys have really grown. A for you, Zabuza…the same technique won't work on me twice."

The Momochi sneered before leaping backwards and flowing through a long series of seals. Almost immediately, Kakashi recognized the sequence and began to copy it.

"_Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu_!" they called out in unison.

Two massive oriental dragons formed of water burst out of the lake and collided. To Kakashi's left, Naruto rushed back to shore before she could be caught up in the giant waves created by the collision.

At that moment, both Kakashi and Zabuza ran forward. Zabuza swung his sword down vertically and Kakashi managed to block with a single chakra-enforced kunai. Kakashi took advantage of their eye contact and casted a simple genjutsu on Zabuza that would subconsciously suggest his movements, giving the Kiri-nin the illusion that Kakashi was seeing the future, while in reality Kakashi was simply inserting suggestions into his brain via genjutsu.

As Zabuza backed off and formed a half-tiger seal, Kakashi copied his movements perfectly. _'And right about now, I should say…' _"…he's completely reading them."

Zabuza's eyes widened before narrowing in frustration.

"…freaky eye is pissing me off! Right?" smirked Kakashi.

"All you're doing is copying me!" snarled Zabuza.

"You can't beat me, you monkey bastard!" Kakashi finished.

"I'll make sure you can't ever open your mouth again!"

Kakashi's muscles tensed in preparation as a look of confusion passed over the unwrapped part of Zabuza's face. _'Damn, he must have seen part of the genjutsu,' _the silver-haired jounin realized. The Hatake quickly finished his string of hand seals and muttered, "_Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu_!"

Water burst out of the lake before spiraling around Kakashi's body and bursting forward, growing larger with each second until it was over twenty feet in length and ten feet tall. The swirling projectile slammed into Zabuza full-force, sending him crashing through several trees and breaking at least a couple of ribs. The technique had used up most of the water in the lake and redistributed it so that the surrounding forestland for a good distance was completely saturated with water.

Kakashi sent four kunai hurtling towards Zabuza, one for each limb. He landed atop the lowest branch of the tree the Kiri nukenin was propped up against.

"How...?" Zabuza croaked out. "Can you see the future?"

"Yeah. You're gonna die," was Kakashi's morbid response as he held up a kunai.

Two senbon flew out of seemingly nowhere and skewered Zabuza's neck. He crashed to the floor, dead. Kakashi's head snapped towards the direction the needles had come from to see a young boy wearing a Kiri Oinin mask. The boy was dressed in a forest green striped turtleneck and hakama of the same color underneath a short blue kimono with white edges tied together with a brown scarf.

"You're right, he did die," the Oinin chirped.

"You're a Kirigakure Oinin," Kakashi observed.

"You're right, of course. Thank you very much for your help; I have been hunting Zabuza for a long time."

Kakashi nodded idly and jumped off of the tree to land beside Zabuza's corpse. He hissed silently at the dizziness the movement caused. _'Chakra exhaustion,' _ he diagnosed grimly. _'But Zabuza really is dead,' _he observed as he pressed a finger to Zabuza's neck and felt no pulse.

"An Oinin?" muttered Sakura, her voice tinged with curiosity.

"Yes. My duty is to hunt down and kill nukenin from Kirigakure," the Oinin answered.

'_From the timbre of his voice and his height, he can't be much older then any of my students. Maybe fifteen at the oldest. Yet, he's a fully-fledged Oinin…he's no ordinary kid.' _

"Your battle is over," announced the Oinin as he jumped off of the tree and hefted Zabuza's arm over his shoulder. "I must dispose of this body, as it is one with many secrets."

With that, he disappeared.  
"Now we have to get Tazuna-san back to his house. Let's go!" Kakashi said cheerfully as he covered his Sharingan again.

Tazuna's face broke out into a grin. "Thank you guys so much! You can rest at my home when we get there!"

Kakashi nodded and took a step forward, but regretted it when his legs buckled underneath him. _'Shit. I must've used the Sharingan too much…' _he thought.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi awoke to the slightly relaxing feel of fresh chakra flowing into his body. "Ngh?" he groaned, opening his normal eye halfway.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura chirped, turning around. She was sitting at the bottom of his futon, playing a game of cards with Sasuke.

A chakra he quickly identified as Naruto's flared violently, and blue energy entered the upper part of his vision. "Naruto..?" he muttered.

Now that his senses had completely returned, he could feel the slight pressure of Naruto's hand lying across his hitai-ate and forehead. He pulled her wrist away to see that her hand was glowing brightly with chakra, confirming his suspicion that she had been the source of his replenishing chakra.

"You probably shouldn't be moving yet," Naruto admonished gently. "Your Sharingan uses up a lot of chakra."

Kakashi hn'd. "I'll be fine if I rest for a week or so."

Naruto rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and a week will cut it when three genin and a jounin are on an A-Rank mission," she said sarcastically. "We don't know when we're going to be attacked again, so we need you in top shape."

"At the expense of yourself? I can sense your lowered chakra, Naruto. I'll be fine," Kakashi insisted.

Naruto rolled her eyes, but the chakra faded from her palm.

"The Sharingan is an incredible ability, but if it takes so much out of you, you must be careful when you use it," Sakura said. "By the way, who was that masked kid? You said something about an Oinin, but…"

"That's the mask worn by Kirigakure's Oinin, a branch of their ANBU. Their duty is to dispose of nukenin. The bodies of shinobi hold many secrets – the types of chakra it used, the herbs it ingested, and even poisons – and these secrets may reveal dangerous things about the shinobi's village of origin. For example, if I died and my body was taken by an enemy shinobi, the secrets of the Sharingan could be revealed. If you're not careful, there's a possibility that an enemy can steal your techniques. Basically, a shinobi's body can reveal many things, so it is an Oinin's job to find nukenin of their village and dispose of their bodies so that an enemy doesn't steal their village's secrets. No sound, no smell, no trace…that is how nukenin leave our world."

"So Zabuza is now being chopped up and destroyed? That's kind of…creepy," Sakura muttered.

Kakashi couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something vital.

"Sensei, what's wrong?" Sakura asked.

'_Ah,' _he realized, _'that's what it was.' _"Well, it's procedure for Oinin to destroy the bodies of the shinobi they kill on the spot."

"So...?" Sakura asked, one eyebrow raised.

"How did the Oinin dispose of the body?" Kakashi asked patiently.

"How would I know? He took the body with him," Sakura pointed out, shrugging.

"Exactly. But if he wanted proof of the kill, all he would have needed to take was the head. And then there's the question of the weapon used…"

"Senbon!" Sasuke gasped, his eyes widening slightly in surprise and shock. "No way…"

Apparently, Naruto understood too. "Senbon were originally developed for medicinal purposes, and the mortality rate is surprisingly low unless you hit specific spots on the body…"

"Yes, exactly," Kakashi nodded grimly.

"Wait, what are you guys talking about?" Tazuna asked.

"It is most likely that Zabuza is still alive," the jounin replied.

"What? But you said yourself he was dead!"

"Yeah, but there are certain nerves that can be activated to put the victim in a near-death state. All ANBU must know the human physiology by heart, so it would be relatively easy for one to put somebody in such a state. First of all, he went through the trouble of lugging away Zabuza's heavy body, and second, he used senbon. These two points indicate that the Oinin's motive was to save Zabuza, not kill him."

"Aren't you overthinking this?"

"Preparing oneself before it is too late is one of the shinobi rules. Plus, whether or not Zabuza is alive, there's no guarantee that Gatou hasn't hired another shinobi."

"Sensei," Sakura said tentatively, "Even with Naruto's help, you can barely move. How on earth are we supposed to prepare for someone that could put you in that sort of state?"

"Well, you'll be training of course."

"_Training_? What will a little bit of training do? You struggled against Zabuza even with your Sharingan! How are we supposed to beat somebody like that? Are you trying to get us _killed_?"

"And who was it that saved me when I was trapped? You guys are all improving rapidly. It's only been a month and a half since you exited the Academy. However, this is just training until I get better. You guys simply won't be capable of dealing with a jounin-level opponent, no matter what kind of training I put you through. People put into a near-death state take at least two weeks to recover completely, so we have a bit of time. And with Naruto's help, I'll be battle-ready in half that time. So, I have two weeks to get you three to the level where you can at least survive an encounter with a jounin. Sounds like fun, ne?"

Sakura smirked. "Bring it on, Sensei."

0o0o0o0o0o0

(1) Ten ryo is equivalent to about one American dollar.

Jutsu List

_Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu_

English: Ninja Art: Hidden in the Mist Technique

Rank: C

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Supplementary, Long-Range

Description: The user creates a dense mist that is almost impossible to see through.

_Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu_

English: Water Clone Technique

Rank: C

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Supplementary

Description: This creates a clone made out of water. It only has as much chakra as the user gives it and can use taijutsu, genjutsu, and non-elemental ninjutsu and ninjutsu of its own element. It will dispel in a puddle of water with one hit.

_Suiton: Suirou no Jutsu_

English: Water Release: Water Prison Technique

Rank: C

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Short-Range, Supplementary/Defensive

Description: After the necessary hand seals are preformed, an orb of heavy water will form around the target. This prison is nearly impossible to escape, but the user's hand must stay in the prison at all times for it to remain effective.

_Katon: Kasai no Ame no Jutsu_

English: Fire Release: Rain of Fire Technique

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, Long-Range

Rank: C

Description: The user preforms a few seals and concentrates chakra into their hands before firing off a ball of fire into the air. At the apex of its flight, the fireball will split into fifteen different flames, which will then fly towards the target, guided by the user's chakra.

_Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu_

English: Water Relase: Water Dragon Bullet Technique

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, Mid-Range

Rank: B

Description: After the hand seals are finished, a giant oriental dragon formed of water will rush towards the opponent. If it connects, it will deal a large amount of blunt force trauma.

_Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu_

English: Water Relase: Great Waterfall Explosion Technique

Rank: A

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, Long-Range

Description: After the necessary hand seals are completed, water will form a circle around the user before expanding and exploding outwards into a twisting column of pure water.

The title of this chapter is Frontline by Pillar.


	5. Scroll 1, Chapter 5: Iridescent

Hi no Ishi, Scroll One: Kannabi

Full Summary: As Orochimaru and his allies threaten to topple Konoha, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto are becoming the leaders of their generation. The question is, will they survive the Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen or end up like the previous Sannin – broken? AU at the chuunin exams, FemNaru because I can, Team 7-centric.

A/N: Will somebody beta this? Pretty please?

Glossary

Hi no Ishi – Will of Fire

Kannabi – Where the Gods Do Not Help

Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen – Fourth Great Shinobi World War

Doton – Earth Release

Katon – Fire Release

Raiton – Lightning Release

Suiton – Water Release

Nami no Kuni – The Land of Waves

Uzushiogakure – Hidden in the Whirling Tides

Uzu no Kuni – The Land of Eddies

Daisanji Ninkai Taisen – Third Great Shinobi World War

Iwagakure – Hidden in the Rocks

Fuuinjutsu – Sealing Techniques

Fuuton – Wind Release

Yuurei no Mori – Forest of Ghosts

Konoha no Kiiroi Senkou – Konoha's Yellow Flash

_Look, it takes a lot to get me worked up, but this time my boiling point's as low as it's ever been. The Kopi Ninja no Kakashi, the man who copied one thousand techniques…is about to go on rampage!_

_- Hatake Kakashi_

Chapter Four: Iridescent

Kakashi sighed as he stood in front of his genin team within the woods that surrounded Tazuna's house. "In two weeks, I want to have all three of you to have the ability to survive an encounter with a jounin. In other words, the next two weeks are going to be Hell with a capital 'h'. To start off with, I need you three to tell me what you observed during my fight with Zabuza and how you think you could survive a second encounter with him. Sakura, you're first."

"Umm…while he had long-ranged ninjutsu, he seemed to prefer close-range combat. So we could work on distance-type combat?" the Haruno suggested tentatively.

"Exactly. Sasuke, go."

"Doton is one of the main defensive elements, so I could learn how to create walls and such."

"Good. Naruto, shoot."

"Since he seemed to be very good with moving soundlessly, we could work on improving our sensory abilities."

"All three of you have good ideas, but since there is barely enough time to teach you how to specialize in one of these things, I'm going to have each of you specialize in something similar to what you said. Your abilities should then mesh together reasonably well, which will enable you to at least protect yourselves from somebody of Zabuza's level. Sakura, your job will be to keep him dodging with ranged katon ninjutsu. I'll also be working on your speed so that you can keep the distance you'll need. Fire isn't really a defensive element, but there are a few defensive techniques I can teach you. Sasuke, since water is weak to earth, you will neutralize Zabuza's suiton ninjutsu to the best of your abilities. Your element doesn't have the power of Sakura's katon or the speed of Naruto's ration, but it's has huge potential for defensive techniques, so that's what you'll be learning. Naruto, you'll be working on your speed so that you can dodge Zabuza's taijutsu and kenjutsu attacks. Lightning has even less defensive potential then fire and there are only one or two defensive techniques that I can teach you as of now as opposed to the ten or more I can teach Sasuke. Unlike Sakura who can fight pretty easily at all ranges, you specialize in mid- to short- range techniques, which is well within Zabuza's reach, especially with his speed, so it's best if you have the ability to dodge.

By the time I'm done with you three, you'll have all your bases covered; Sakura for long-rang attacks, Sasuke for defense, and Naruto as a sensory and speed-type. Anyways, let's get started," Kakashi said as he quickly formed two _Kage Bunshin_. "Each of you will be with one of my clones. Let's get going."

The original Kakashi indicated that Sakura should follow him while his clones took Naruto and Sasuke into separate, deeper areas of the forest.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"All right, Sakura," Kakashi said once Sasuke, Naruto, and his clones had disappeared. "The first order of business is improving your stamina, since, as I'm sure you know, you have the lowest chakra reserves on this team."

Sakura looked down at this, ashamed.

"However, your chakra control is definitely above average. This will be helpful once I get your chakra reserves up to scratch. For now though, we'll work on your stamina and reflexes."

As he spoke, Kakashi fished a kunai out of his pouch and twirled it lazily around his finger. "You might want to start running now," the man said cheerfully.

Sakura gulped and ducked an instant later when a kunai slammed into the tree behind her, just where her head had been a second ago. _'I'm so screwed,' _she realized.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"What we're going to do now will increase the speed of your hand seals and your reaction time," Kakashi said.

Sasuke kept his silence, but listened to what the Hatake said.

"Zabuza won't tell you what he's going to attack with, and neither will I. Just make sure you only use your doton ninjutsu." With that, Kakashi's hands blurred through hand seals and he intoned softly, "_Suiton: Teppoudama_!"

Sasuke swore violently as he wove his own set of seals, hoping that he would be fast enough to block the high-velocity water bullets flying this way.

He wasn't.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Since you mentioned sensory abilities, I'm assuming you know a little bit about them?" Kakashi asked.

"A little," Naruto shrugged. "I just know that you can increase your hearing and sense of smell by focusing chakra to the proper areas. I've also heard a little bit about chakra sensing, but not enough to be able to recreate it."

"Okay," Kakashi chirped as he smiled in his usual way and formed a half-tiger seal. A thick fog formed a moment later, obscuring Naruto's view completely.

Only the slight whistle of metal gliding through air saved Naruto from being impaled by a good twenty kunai.

Kakashi's evil chuckle resounded throughout the mist.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Needless to say, by the end of the day, all three genin were exhausted, bleeding, and bruised. When dinnertime came around, they all ate like ravenous animals. Tsunami wore a bemused expression on her face as she brought third helpings for the three genin.

When they were done eating dinner, Naruto moved to heal the major cuts on her teammates' bodies. After Naruto had finished with Sakura's injuries and moved on to Sasuke's, a picture hanging on the wall caught Sakura's eye.

"Hey, Tazuna-san?" Sakura asked quietly. "Why is this picture torn? Inari was looking at it throughout dinner. Somebody's face was torn out. Was that deliberate?"

All three members of Tazuna's family twitched slightly.

"That was Inari's father," Tsunami replied, her voice blank.

"A while ago, this whole country called him a hero," Tazuna continued.

Inari stood up from his chair and walked away. "Hey, Inari, where are you going?" Tsunami asked worriedly. When she got no response besides a slammed door, she practically shouted, "Inari!" before whirling around to face her father. "I've told you not to speak of that man in front of Inari!" she snapped.

"So whatever it is you're talking about is what makes Inari act so strangely?" Sakura mused out loud.

"Sounds like there's a story there," commented Kakashi.

"…The man in the picture was not actually Inari's birth father," Tazuna said. "But they were as close as any father and son could possibly be. Inari was such a happy child back then." Tazuna trembled slightly, and tears built up in the corners of his eyes.

Sakura immediately looked at the old bridge builder and wondered, _'What could have happened to make him react so strongly?'_

"But Inari changed after what happened to his father. Our people – and especially little Inari – lost all hope after what happened on that day."

"What could have possibly happened to change Inari so much?" Kakashi asked curiously.

Tazuna wiped the tears from his eyes before continuing. "I might as well start from the beginning so you can really understand why that man was our country's hero.

"One day, a group of bullies stole Inari's dog, Pochi, and threw him in the ocean from a pier. They pushed Inari in as well. He probably would have died if that man hadn't found him. The man's name was Kaiza; he rescued Inari and taught him that to live a life without regrets was to live a life protecting what is precious to you. He was a wandering fisherman who had come here to find his fortune in the rich waters off of this country. From that day forward, Inari's affection and admiration for Kaiza grew and grew. It probably had something to do with the fact that Inari's real father died before he could remember him, but still, those two were always together. He was just the kind of man the world needs more of.

"Several months later, the river overflowed to such an extent that it forced open the locks that were built there to prevent it from flooding the season. Nobody would go in to close it – it was practically suicide with the currents being as strong as they were. But Kaiza managed to do it. It was this deed and many others that made him so popular in this land. With a father like that, Inari could hold his head high. But then Gatou came to town."

"And then this incident you've been alluding to took place," Kakashi said. "What was it, exactly?"

Tazuna's expression hardened before he took a deep breath and said, "Gatou had Kaiza put to death in front of the entire city."

"What?" Sakura gasped in shock.

Naruto sighed slightly and looked away while Kakashi's eye narrowed slightly and Sasuke's widened.

"He said that Kaiza had been committing terrorist activities and sentenced him to death," explained Tazuna. "Ever since that day, Inari was never the same. And it wasn't just him – Tsunami and everybody else in the country changed. Nami no Kuni is a small place, so word gets around fast and almost everybody knew everybody else…Kaiza's death was a huge blow to this country's morale."

"It's always the dreamers that die young," Naruto muttered as she finished closing a slice along Sasuke's forearm. "If you stand out like that, of course somebody's going to want to kill you. If you kill somebody's hope, you kill their resistance. However, the hope of this land isn't dead, is it? You're their hope now, Tazuna. You and your bridge. That's your resistance."

"Y'know, I think that's the most you've ever said at one time," Sakura commented, smirking.

"Hm. Don't get used to it."

Even Sasuke snorted at that.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Five days later, Naruto was up at the crack of dawn, carrying nothing but two sets of scrolls. She was about to walk out the door when Kakashi caught her wrist.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto hid her surprise with her signature biting sarcasm. "I'm going to visit the brothels," she sneered, retracting her hand from Kakashi's grip and reaching towards the door again.

"Both of us know that isn't true, Naruto. Where are you going?"

"Why the hell do you care? You gave us the day off to rest up and I can do whatever the fuck I want with that time."

"Naruto," Kakashi said, his tone of voice making it a reprimand. "As you pointed out a while ago, we are up against at least one jounin-level nukenin, if not more. I'm asking because I care; I don't want you to get killed."

Naruto clenched her jaw involuntarily at Kakashi's last sentence. She had just woken up from a particularly bad dream her imagination had cooked up about Madara and Itachi slaughtering everybody in Konoha, all the while mockingly telling her that it was her fault.

The dream had also served to remind her of why she had purposely distanced herself from people after the Massacre. _'Whoever said time heals all wounds was a damn liar,' _Naruto thought, grimacing inwardly. The pain of Itachi's betrayal hurt just as much as it had five years ago. And then there was also the fact that everybody around her would inevitably be brought to ruin by the simple fact of what she was. Naruto wasn't stupid enough to think that everything revolved around her, but it was true that everything she touched seemed to break. And then there was the matter of the Akatsuki…if what Madara had said was true, then in three years she would be a walking target for a group of shinobi that were probably around S-Class, which made her even more of a danger to those around her.

The last reason she had never gotten close to anybody again was rather selfish. When Itachi had left the village, it had hurt like nothing else, and it wouldn't go away, no matter what she did. It had dulled over the years, but only slightly. Even now, she could feel the dull ache in her chest, reminding her of what she was: a danger. No matter what, she never wanted to feel that pain again. She wasn't sure she would survive the experience. And if avoiding that pain meant keeping people at arm's length, then that was what she would do.

"I'm just going to gather some herbs in the forests," Naruto replied finally. "There are some rare species here that can be made into both poisons and antidotes."

Even somebody as inexperienced as Naruto could tell that Kakashi didn't want to let her odd behavior slide. He let her go anyway.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi blinked once as he watched Naruto leave. _'What the hell was that all about?' _he wondered uneasily.

He had seen the uncertainty, fear, pain, and resignation in Naruto's eyes. All ANBU were taught how to read body language and emotion; he was no exception. The emotions disturbed him because they made Naruto look older then she really was; they made her look even older then Sasuke when he thought of his clan.

Kakashi added another note to the ever-growing "Mysteries of Naruto" list.

0o0o0o0o0o0

As soon as Naruto was inside of the woods, she opened one of the scrolls she had brought with her to reveal a detailed map of Nami no Kuni. The blonde quickly raced up a random tree and used the sun to get her bearings before setting off towards the northeast.

She was heading towards a small island that held the remains of a ruined village named Uzushiogakure. The island was practically covered in rare plants that could be used for poisons and antidotes, and Naruto was a bit curious about the village itself.

When she had asked Anko about it, the older kunoichi had said that it had been Nami no Kuni's shinobi village when the country had been known as Uzu no Kuni. It had been destroyed during the Daisanji Ninkai Taisen by Iwagakure. Apparently, it had been famous for its shinobi's prowess in fuuinjutsu. In the end, it was the other villages' fear of those same abilities that lead to Uzushiogakure's extinction.

It took close to four hours of leaping through trees and running over the surface of the ocean to reach the island. Once she had walked a little bit inland, Naruto reached a large clearing and rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

There was a giant patch of hemlock to her right, a birch tree to her left, and was that a five-foot clump of_ fire vine_? _'Holy shit!' _she thought, _'This place is a medic's heaven!'_

Without further ado, Naruto began to harvest the plants.

0o0o0o0o0o0

A good three hours later, Naruto pushed aside a web of vines and branches to find a giant, destroyed city stretched atop the cliffs, facing the ocean.

The ocean itself was churning violently, splashing spray across the cliff walls. Even from her relatively distant position, Naruto could see the jagged rocks poking out of the ocean's surface. _'Hidden in the whirling tides indeed,' _Naruto thought with a dry chuckle.

Naruto ghosted through the ruins. _'It's a shame something so beautiful was destroyed,' _Naruto thought idly.

Even now, it was obvious that Uzushio had once been a beautiful place. The building were made of a combination of stone and wood, and tended to be circular in shape. Pillars were not an uncommon sight; many times they had spirals carved in to the stone as a form of decoration. A river cut straight through the middle of the city, falling off of the cliffs to form a majestic waterfall.

Naruto walked around a collapsed building and was suddenly flung backwards by a long object slamming into her torso. She hit the wall behind her at an awkward angle, nearly breaking a couple of ribs.

Naruto got up immediately and slipped out the senbon she had hidden up her sleeve as she slipped into a defensive stance.

She raised a single eyebrow when she saw that the thing that had thrown her into the wall was in fact a brown bird with golden eyes that was easily triple her size. Its left wing was extended, indicating that that was what she had been hit with. The bird glared fiercely at her and snarled out, "Get out of here, intruder!"

Naruto's eyebrow rose higher. _'So it can talk too? Great, just what I need. A talking bird that wants to kill me,' _she thought. "Look, I'm not taking anything except for the plants this island is populated with," the blonde said.

The bird let out a furious screech. "I am a member of the Falcon Clan, summons of the Uzumaki Clan! I will protect the remnants of this village!"

Naruto's eyes widened at that. _'Uzumaki Clan?' _she thought in utter shock. "What the hell do you mean, Uzumaki Clan?" she demanded.

"The extinct masters of fuuinjutsu, the leaders of this village!" he shouted. "Not that you would know anything, _outsider_!"

"Aki! That's enough!" came the shriek of another bird. This one was even larger, but its feathers were an unnatural blue and its eyes copper-colored and its voice sounded feminine.

The brown falcon, now identified as Aki, bowed its head slightly as if he was ashamed. "Sorry," muttered Aki.

The blue falcon sighed before turning to look at Naruto, who barely noticed it. She was too busy trying to solve the mystery of her surname and what it had to do with a destroyed village. _'Uzu, Uzushio, Uzumaki…they all mean similar things. But what could this mean? Did I really come from this Uzumaki Clan of Uzushio? If so, how is it even possible? Uzushio was destroyed almost thirty years ago!'_

"Oi, blondie!"

Naruto's head snapped up and she glared darkly at Aki, cruel words on the tip of her tongue.

The blue falcon sighed and asked, "What is your name?"

"It's considered polite to give your name before asking for another's," Naruto sneered, successfully covering her uncertainty and confusion.

"I'm Umi," the blue falcon replied.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the blonde relented.

Both birds started violently when Naruto introduced herself. Aki's eyes filled up with fury and he protested, "She's got to be lying!"

Umi, on the other hand, just looked at the blonde thoughtfully. "Let's bring her to the elders and see what they say. We can always have her test blood seal anyways."

Aki grunted unhappily before lunging forward and snatching up the back of Naruto's vest in his beak, causing the kunoichi to growl at him. He twisted his head and dropped her on his back, snapping, "Hold on tight."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Despite Naruto's irritation at being practically kidnapped by a pair giant talking birds that claimed to be summons of a clan that she somehow belonged to, she found herself enjoying their flight. The feel of the wind rushing through her hair and the incredible view somehow managed to relax her in a way nothing else had. It ended too soon.

Umi and Aki had landed on a relatively large island a kilometer or so off of the one Uzushio was situated on. Falcons of all sizes ranging from the size of a human to that of a five-story building populated the island. Naruto even saw one that had silver feathers, of all things. Silver!

As soon as Umi and Aki landed, all attention turned towards the two birds. Mutters spread throughout the crowd of birds when they noticed Naruto's presence.

"What's she doing here?"  
"A human? We haven't brought any humans here since Kushina-chan died."

"Is she a survivor?"

"But she doesn't have red hair…"

_'Who's Kushina?' _wondered Naruto. _'Was she a survivor of the Uzushio Massacre? And what does red hair have to do with anything?'_

Suddenly, the crowd of falcons parted to allow a massive bird pass through. He was very old, judging by the limpness of his snow-white feathers and the wisdom in his bright yellow eyes, but his size made up for it – he was easily half the height of the Hokage Tower. "Who's this, Umi, Aki?" the white falcon asked sharply.

"We found her in the ruins of Uzushio," Umi replied.

"She claims to be an Uzumaki," declared Aki.

Immediately, the muttering started up again. This time, the birds' tone was more hostile, and Naruto quickly sought a way to diffuse the situation. _'So these are the summons of the Uzumaki Clan, who were specialists in fuuinjutsu and a major clan in Uzushio. Most of their anger seems to stem from my clan name, so that probably means that they think I'm lying and only claiming to be an Uzumaki. If red hair was a trait of this Uzumaki Clan, then the fact that I have blonde hair fuels their suspicion that I'm lying,' _she analyzed. "I'm an orphan," she declared among the cacophony of shouting and muttering. Immediately, the falcons fell into silence. "I have no idea who my parents were. It could be coincidence that I have the same surname as the clan you used to serve."

"Why were you at Uzushiogakure?" the white falcon queried suspiciously.

"I was gathering herbs. That island is covered with them. I saw the ruins and got curious."

At that moment, the small silver-feathered bird that Naruto had seen earlier landed in front of the white-feathered elder. It was probably a female, judging from its voice. She carried a plain scroll that she dropped in front of the white-feathered falcon. "Shiro-sama!" the small bird squeaked. "I brought the scroll you asked for!"

The elder bird nodded. "Thank you, Hikari," he said before returning his attention to Naruto. "This is one of the scrolls we managed to save from Uzushio's destruction. It is sealed with a technique that will only allow somebody of Uzumaki blood to open it. Smear some of your blood across the surface and apply a little chakra, and we will see whether you belong to our Uzumaki Clan or not."

Naruto shrugged. _'I hope this at least fills in some of the holes in this whole thing,' _she thought dryly. _'If my knowledge of Uzushio was a ship, then I'd be sinking at an alarming rate.' _She bit her thumb, molded a little bit of chakra into the appendage, and kneeled down to press her bleeding finger against the scroll.

It flashed with blue light for a moment before unraveling part way. Naruto raised a single eyebrow and thought, _'Okay…so I now know I belong to an extinct clan. As a Nara would say, how troublesome. But how did this happen, exactly? One of the birds mentioned a Kushina. Could she have been a survivor of the Massacre? If so, could she have been my mother?'_

The thought of a family was foreign to Naruto; ever since Itachi, she had refused to think about anybody as family. After all, her real parents were dead, and she had learned at an early age that people were not to be trusted. But now, the proof that she had actually belonged to a clan – albeit an extinct one, ironically – was just about biting her in the face. The whole experience was rather novel.

The muttering started up again among the crowd of birds, but this time it rang with hope and happiness.

"She _is _an Uzumaki!"

"Amazing!"  
"This is wonderful! We have a summoner again!"

Shiro blinked once before inclining his head to Naruto. "It would appear you belong to the Uzumaki Clan we served years ago. As such, it is your birthright to sign the contract of the Falcon Clan."

Shiro stepped aside to reveal a large black scroll. "Just unravel the scroll, sign your name with blood, cover all the fingertips of one of your hands with blood, and press your hand into the scroll. Each summoning requires a blood sacrifice and the seals for the summoning technique Boar, Dog, Monkey, Bird and Ram. After you're done with the seals, just place your palm on a nearby surface and channel your chakra into your hand. The falcon you summon will be determined by the amount of chakra you use."

Naruto nodded and signed her name on the scroll before following Shiro's instructions. She channeled a small amount of chakra into her hand to make sure she summoned something controllable. "_Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!" Naruto muttered. The silver-feathered falcon named Hikari appeared in a puff of smoke and almost seemed to smile up at Naruto. "Hello!" the young falcon chirped. Naruto's mouth twitched up into a small smile at Hikari's cheery tone.

Shiro chuckled, an action that rumbled deep in his chest. "It's tradition for an Uzumaki to take a single falcon as a partner. Most of the time, it's the first bird that the Uzumaki summons becomes their partner. Little Hikari here will be good for you, I think. She balances out your serious attitude."

Naruto's small smile morphed into a scowl at that, but it only caused Shiro to laugh harder. "You two will be able to work together well. Welcome to the Yuurei no Mori. What is your name, little Uzumaki?"

0o0o0o0o0o0

Several hours had passed when Shiro was finished explaining everything to Naruto.

Iwagakure had all but tortured most of the Uzushio citizens before killing them. That pissed her off.

Her mother, Uzumaki Kushina, had been the previous Kyuubi jinchuuriki, and said Bijuu had escaped during childbirth. She could live with that.

Her father had been Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage and Konoha no Kiiroi Senkou, the man who had sealed the Kyuubi within her when he had the ability to seal it within a _Kage Bunshin_ or jar of some sort…still processing.

"Ugh," Naruto groaned. "This is gonna give me a headache."

At that moment, Hikari decided to land in front of the blonde jinchuuriki, a brand new hitai-ate carrying the symbol of Uzushio on it tied loosely around her neck. A larger copy of Hikari's hitai-ate was held in her beak. "This is for you," the bird said quietly, dropping the symbol of Naruto's homeland at her feet.

Naruto's hands definitely did _not _shake as she picked up the hitai-ate and placed it in her pouch. Proper kunoichi did not shake from emotion. That was what it said in the twenty-fifth shinobi rule, and Naruto had always been a stickler for the shinobi rules as long as they didn't put another Konoha-nin in danger.

"You know, we should probably be going, Naruto-sama," Hikari commented. "The moon has risen. Your teammates will be worried about you."

Naruto sighed. "You're right, of cour – wait, did you just call me _Naruto-sama?_" she asked incredulously.

Hikari looked up at Naruto, her expression practically screaming innocence. "You are a strong person, Naruto-sama. I respect you for surviving with your village's hate for so long. For that, I think you deserve the title."

Naruto snorted. "I should probably get going, or Sakura will strangle me," she muttered.

"I'll take you there," Umi offered from her position a few meters away from Naruto. "It will be faster if we fly there."

"Thanks Umi," Naruto said gratefully as she jumped, landing neatly on the falcon's back. "You coming, Hikari?" the blonde teased.

The silver-feathered female let out an indignant shriek, causing Naruto to snicker as Umi took off

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura's eyebrow twitched dangerously as she continued pacing in front of the rest of her team. Finally, she exploded. "Where the hell is she?" roared Sakura. "I swear, I'm going to kill her when she gets back!"

"You know, if you keep pacing like that, you're going to wear a hole in the floor," somebody remarked dryly.

Sakura turned around and frowned deeply at Naruto, who was slouching against the wall, a silver bird perched on her shoulder. "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? I WAS WORRIED SICK!" Sakura raged.

Naruto raised a sarcastic eyebrow – how was that even possible, anyway? – and walked towards the other three members of her team. "Aw, I didn't know you cared," Naruto mocked with a smirk.

Sakura's eyebrow twitched again. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU'VE BEEN GONE ALL DAY!"

"Why thank you for stating the obvious."

Sakura let out a half-strangled scream of frustration. "Is it to damn much to ask that you actually think about somebody else for once in your life? Is it too much to ask for you to actually _care _about something?"

Naruto rolled her eyes. "There's nothing _worth _caring about," the blonde snarled, her voice unusually vicious and bitter. "Everything crumbles eventually, and all that is left is pain."

Sakura's eyes widened and she stumbled backward as if she had been physically slapped. "W-what?" she stuttered out. This was a completely new side of Naruto; she had always been sarcastic and a thorough believer of tough love, but she had helped Sakura and Sasuke whenever they were having trouble with something. She had healed their wounds and bruises. She must have cared. Right?

"Naruto," Kakashi said in a placating tone, "Sakura was just worried about you because you were gone for so long."

Naruto snorted before turning to leave. "I'll be back inside later," she muttered as she exited the house again.

Sasuke frowned. "Hey-," he called.

"I'll talk to her," Kakashi said before he stood up and followed Naruto outside.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto was sitting on the dock a few meters away from the house, allowing her feet to sink into the freezing ocean water. Kakashi walked up behind her and commented, "Y'know, you could get frostbite like that."

Naruto spared him a single glance, but looked back at the moon rising over the ocean without saying a word.  
"So what's with the bird?" Kakashi asked in a rather pathetic attempt to start a conversation.

"I'm a falcon, for the record," the silver-feathered bird piped up.

Kakashi started slightly when he heard the bird's voice. He turned, intending to examine the bird closely, only to find that Naruto's shoulder was in his line of vision. "Does this falcon have a name?" Kakashi questioned with fake cheerfulness.

"Hikari," the bird answered.

"…Aa."

_'Why does the idea of a falcon summon seem familiar?' _wondered Kakashi. His eye widened slightly. _'The Uzumaki Clan had the Falcon Contract. _Fuck_.'_

If Naruto had the Falcon Contract, which meant that she probably knew about her clan and her parents. _'She must have visited the ruins of Uzushio. Shit, this is bad.'_

"Naruto…" he said hesitantly.

"Why didn't you tell me about my parents?" the blonde asked quietly, her voice blank and robotic. "You knew. You were his student. There's no way you didn't know."

Kakashi sighed and looked away, avoiding Naruto's piercing gaze. "Sandaime-sama thought it would be best if nobody knew who your parents were. They had a lot of enemies, as I'm sure you know. You would have been murdered as an infant."

"Was I ever going to be told?"

"When you reached jounin or the age of sixteen."

Naruto was silent after that.

"Naruto…" murmured Kakashi, "Please try not to hate him. Minato-sensei did the best he could."

The Uzumaki snorted. "You know just as well as I do that he could have sealed the Kyuubi within a container or jar. He _wanted _Konoha to have a weapon."

Kakashi winced slightly. _'She's right, of course,' _he thought grimly. _'But…' _"I doubt that. Minato-sensei wasn't the sort of person who condoned turning humans into weapons. He probably just wanted you to have a special power of some sort that would allow you to survive without parents. Besides, a jar is a lot easier to steal then a trained kunoichi."

Naruto snorted at that, this time in amusement.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Three days later, Tazuna's family plus Team 7 was gathered around the dinner table, eating. Of course, the genins' usual antics couldn't be quelled. Sakura was flicking Naruto's nose in an attempt to get a reaction out of the apathetic kunoichi, and an amused smirk teased at the corner of Sasuke's mouth.

Sasuke's smirk quickly morphed into a small frown as tears built up in the corners of Inari's eyes as the young boy watched Naruto and Sakura interact.

"Why do you try so hard?" Inari shouted suddenly, standing up and slamming his palms down on the table. "No matter how hard you try, you'll never be a match for Gatou's thugs! You act cool and talk tough, but big, strong guys like that are always too much for weaker people! He'll destroy you!"

Sasuke raised his eyebrows slightly. _'Brat,' _he thought.

Naruto didn't even glance up when she said, "Gatou's just one man. He feeds on your fear. He's only stronger then you because you _let _him be. After all, he has to hire other people to do all of his work. If he was as strong as you say, he would have come here and fought us himself."

"Just watching you ticks me off!" Inari snarled, tears running down his cheeks. "You guys don't know a thing! This isn't your town! You don't know a thing about me! You're always goofing off and having fun! You don't know anything about loneliness or suffering!"

Sasuke had to forcibly repress the burst of killing intent he let out reflexively. His eyes narrowed into a withering glare. _'How dare he-!' _he raged mentally, gritting his teeth together. _'How dare he say such a thing!'_

Naruto didn't react at all, as usual. "Go ahead and throw yourself a pity party, brat," she sneered. "See if I care."

Inari let out a choked sob and ran away from the table.

0o0o0o0o0o0

_Suiton: Teppoudama_

English: Water Release: Gunshot

Rank: C

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Long-Range, Offensive

Description: After the necessary hand seals are completed, the user spits out several high-speed bullets formed out of water. Like most C-Rank ninjutsu, the effectiveness of this technique can be increased with a larger amount of chakra.

_Kuchiyose no Jutsu_

English: Lit. "Spiritualism Technique." Translated as Summoning Technique

Rank: C

Classifications: Ninjutsu

Description: After a contract with an animal clan is signed, the user completes the hand seals and places the palm that they signed the contract with on the ground. An animal from the contracted clan will be summoned. The size of the animal depends on the amount of chakra used.

The title of this chapter is Iridescent by Linkin Park.


	6. Scroll 1, Chapter 6: Dance with the Devi

Hi no Ishi, Scroll One: Kannabi

Full Summary: As Orochimaru and his allies threaten to topple Konoha, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke are becoming the leaders of their generation. The question is, will they survive the Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen or end up like the previous Sannin – broken? AU diverging at the chuunin exams. FemNaru because I can. Team 7-centric.

A/N: I just realized I made several mistakes in this chapter *looks away shiftily*. This is a fixed version of this chapter. Chapter seven is now in progress. Also I now have a beta! Pancake of Epic Proportions will now work as my beta, thankfully. Chapter seven will be the first chapter beta-ed chapter of Hi no Ishi.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I just torture the characters. ;)

Glossary

Hi no Ishi - Will of Fire

Kannabi - Where the Gods Do Not Help

Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen - Fourth Great Shinobi World War

Sannin no Sairai - Second Coming of the Sannin

Konoha no Jyuuninin – Konoha Twelve

Kaa-san - Mother

Suiton - Water Release

Kekkai Genkai – Bloodline Limit

Katon - Fire Release

Doton - Earth Release

Sharingan no Kakashi – Kakashi of the Sharingan

Aka-shi – Red Death

Ninken – Ninja Dogs

Iryoujutsu – Medical Techniques

_When I'm dead and gone, I want people to remember that I was Yamanaka Ino, jounin of Konoha, infiltration specialist. I want them to know that I lived in the time of the Sannin no Sairai and the Konoha no Jyuuninin. I want them to remember I was human, not some undefeatable legend._

_-Yamanaka Ino_

Chapter Six: Dance with the Devil

Warning bells began to blare frantically in Kakashi's head when he and Sasuke escorted Tazuna to the bridge, only to find the workers thrown to sides of the structure, half-dead. Tazuna's eyes widened in panic as he rushed over to the closest of the builders and asked frantically, "What happened?"

"M-Monsters…" the worker gasped out.

Kakashi glanced from side to side. _'Zabuza's here,' _he realized. _'And his partner too, probably.' _Suddenly, a thick mist began to form. 'Kirigakure no Jutsu_...' _Kakashi realized. _'I was right. He survived, and now he's come back to finish things.'_ With an unspoken command, Kakashi and Sasuke took position on opposite sides of Tazuna, facing outwards and into the mist.

"It's been a while, Kakashi…" murmured Zabuza, his voice echoing throughout the mist."You have one of those brats with you too. The poor thing's trembling again."

Sasuke's mouth curved up into his trademark arrogant smirk. "I'm trembling with eagerness for a rematch," the Uchiha said confidently.

The mist faded slightly to reveal ten of Zabuza's _Mizu Bunshin _surrounding them. Kakashi's eye curved up into a cheerful smile as he ordered brightly, "Do it, Sasuke."

Sasuke's smirk widened before he put on a burst of speed and sliced through all ten of the clones. Kakashi knew that the clones had only really been to test Sasuke's improvement, but it was still rather impressive for a genin to be able to take them all out in under two seconds.

Zabuza and the fake Oinin stepped into sight, several meters in front of Sasuke. "Well, it looks like at least one of your brats has improved. Don't you agree, Haku?" the nukenin chuckled.

"Indeed," the fake Oinin assented.

"Sasuke, release the flare," Kakashi ordered.

Sasuke nodded and retrieved a piece of paper with a violet border that had a series of complicated characters scribbled on to it. It was one of Naruto's hand-made flash tags that released a brilliant flare of pale purple light that could be seen from a good fifteen kilometers away. The Uchiha wrapped it around the handle of one of his kunai before tossing the weapon high into the air. Ten seconds later, the tag exploded with a spectacular flare of violet light and a large bang.

"He's an impressive kid," Haku remarked. "Even if the _Mizu Bunshin _only had ten percent of your strength, he did very well."

"But we're still on the offensive. Go, Haku," Zabuza ordered.

Haku disappeared without another word, only to reappear in front of Sasuke. The Uchiha blocked the three senbon Haku held in between his fingers like claws with a single kunai, smirking the whole while.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura looked up from her cards with a frown when she heard a large crashing noise downstairs. Naruto silently dropped her own hand before placing her ear to the floor in an attempt to improve her hearing.

A moment later, Naruto's hands started moving. _/Two enemies. Weak. Taking hostage. We go now./_

Sakura nodded sharply. Naruto stood up soundlessly, Sakura right behind her. Naruto quickly lead the way outside.

"LET GO OF MY KAA-SAN!" Inari shouted as he charged recklessly towards the two samurai thugs. Sakura was about to rush forward, but stopped when Naruto leaped in and whisked the kid out of the way.

"Stay here and don't get hurt," the blonde ordered sharply. Almost instantaneously, Naruto turned and aimed two shuriken at the charging samurai.

"Hah!" the one on the left snorted as both of them blocked the projectiles with their scabbards. "Do you expect these to affect us?"

"Not really," Naruto said dryly. _/Kill./_

Sakura's jaw tensed and she trembled slightly, but she did what had to be done and slit the thugs' throats.

The two bodies collapsed to the ground, blood gurgling out of the clean slit across their throats. Blood pooled across the wooden floor. Tsunami leaped away from the corpses immediately. Sakura sheathed her swords slowly, unable to take her eyes off of the corpses of the two men she had just killed. "Oh gods…" she muttered, not bothering to hide the horror in her voice.

"Sakura," Naruto said.

Sakura's head snapped up and her eyes met with the Naruto's. There was nothing visible in their blue depths except for a slight softness hidden behind a wall of steel. "You did what you had to do," Naruto said quietly. "Don't hate yourself for it."

Sakura nodded unsteadily, but she was still unable to get the image of the two dead thugs out of her head. Suddenly, a large flash of purple light lit up the sky, followed by the faint boom of an explosion. Sakura's eyes narrowed slightly. _'That's the signal flare. Did Zabuza return?' _she wondered in a slight panic.

"Sorry to leave you with the cleanup," Naruto said to Tsunami before both she and Sakura rushed off towards the bridge.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Sasuke, be careful," ordered Kakashi. "Our duty is to protect Tazuna above all else."

Sasuke nodded sharply before returning his attention to the fake Oinin named Haku.

"I don't want to kill you," said Haku, "but you won't leave quietly, will you?"

"Don't be stupid," Sasuke replied smugly.

"As I thought. However, you won't be able to match my speed for very long, and I have two advantages."

Sasuke frowned. _'Two advantages?' _he thought.

"First, the water splashed all over this bridge is an excellent resource. Second, one of your hands is occupied blocking my senbon, so you only have one hand left to defend yourself with."

When Haku was finished speaking, his free hand began weaving seals. _'Wait,' _thought Sasuke, _'seals with one hand? Is that even _possible_?' _

"_Hijutsu: __Sensatsu Suishou_!" Haku muttered as he stomped his sandaled foot.

Water from the puddle-splattered bridge and the fog materialized into a cloud of needles that surrounded Sasuke on all sides. Thankfully, none materialized above him, allowing for a possible escape route.

Sasuke focused a large amount of chakra into his feet as he leapt upwards, causing him to practically explode off of the ground. From several feet in the air, Sasuke aimed a handful of shuriken at Haku. His weapons were joined by twenty-odd kunai a second later. Sasuke landed a second later a meter or so away from Haku and wondered, _'Where did those kunai come from? Are Naruto and Sakura here?' _

Haku's hands flickered forward as he threw another volley of senbon towards Sasuke. The weapons were stopped by several shuriken tossed from somewhere to Sasuke's left. Naruto leaped out of the mist a second later, indicating that she was the thrower. Haku was about to attack again, but he was interrupted by a pair of swords that almost decapitated him from behind. Haku turned around and pulled the sword-wielder's wrist over his head, sending her flying towards Sasuke and Naruto. Sakura hit the ground with a painful thud. She stood up with a pained groan, both of her swords clenched tightly in her hands.

Sasuke frowned when he saw the partially dried blood on Sakura's swords. _'Did they run into somebody before they came here?' _he wondered. "Are you guys okay?" he asked, a little surprised at the amount of worry in his voice.

Sakura gave him a weak smile. "Yeah. It was just a couple of thugs."

Sasuke could tell that there was something more to the story, but he decided not to push it. "This guy uses senbon as his main weapon," the Uchiha explained. "He's pretty fast too. He's only used one ninjutsu so far, but it was a suiton."

Naruto nodded in understanding once while Sakura merely smirked.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi called. "Set up a wall around Tazuna-san. All three of you, leave a clone by the wall!"

The three genin leapt backwards immediately to surround Tazuna, each of them forming their own set of hand seals. "_Doton: Doryuuheki_!" Sasuke muttered as he slammed his palms into the ground. A circular wall of stone rose up to surround Tazuna just as Naruto formed a _Kaminari Bunshin _and Sakura a _Ho Bunshin_. He created his own _Tsuchi Bunshin_ before being forced to dodge several senbon sent flying his way.

Naruto disappeared from his sight, reappearing in front of Haku to slam a chakra-enforced foot into the fake Oinin's stomach, sending him flying towards Zabuza.

"You know, you had that coming," Kakashi remarked lazily. "Sasuke is one of the best genin in Konoha. Sakura is one of our brightest, and Naruto has enough secrets and surprises to fill most of Konoha's library."

Zabuza snorted, but the action quickly morphed into a twisted, hysterical parody of laughter. "Haku, you do understand that if this goes on like this, we may actually lose?" the Kirigakure nukenin said.

"I do. What a pity," replied Haku as his chakra began to materialize around his body and the temperature dropped by several degrees.

'_Why does the air suddenly feel so cold?'_ Sasuke wondered as he looked around warily.

"_Hijutsu: Makyou Hyoushou_!" exclaimed Haku. A moment later, sheets of ice formed of the water on the bridge and air started rising up from the floor. They formed a complete dome of ice mirrors that surrounded both him and his teammates. _'Wha-? What is this technique? These mirrors are made of ice, so could they be a kekkai genkai of some sort?'_ Sasuke worried. _'Whatever this technique is, we'll find a way to defeat it!'_

Haku literally stepped into one of the mirrors. Immediately, all of the other mirrors showed a perfect reflection of the fake Oinin, making it impossible to tell the difference between the real one and the reflections.

Sakura's next words summed up his thoughts perfectly.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…"

0o0o0o0o0o0

'_So that kid has a kekkai genkai,'_ Kakashi observed. _'This could get very bad very fast.' _

"Well, we can play while our children do the same…while mine kills yours, of course," Zabuza chuckled.

Suddenly, three familiar screams rang out through the air. Kakashi's jaw tensed worriedly. _'Could this be any worse?' _he wondered. "Damn it…" he muttered. _'If I go help those three, I leave Tazuna-san completely open to attack. Sasuke's wall won't stay there forever, and neither will their clones. But at the first sign of a _Kage Bunshin_, Zabuza will just counter with his _Mizu Bunshin_. I'd just be wasting my chakra. So the only way to help them is to finish off Zabuza as soon as possible.' _"You'll forgive me if I end this now," Kakashi murmured as he began to uncover his Sharingan.

Zabuza snorted, "You're going to use the Sharingan again? You lack finesse."

At that moment, Zabuza leaped off of the ground and thrust a kunai forward, towards Kakashi's Sharingan. Kakashi brought his free hand forward to intercept the blade, purposely allowing the kunai to pass halfway through his palm. "You can talk all you want about my lack of finesse, but that doesn't change the fact that you're afraid of the Sharingan and me," Kakashi intoned darkly, allowing his chakra to flare dangerously.

"A shinobi's ultimate technique shouldn't be used randomly. It should be used judiciously and should never be seen more than once!" Zabuza sneered.

"You should feel honored," Kakashi said. "Nobody else has seen it twice. And nobody shall see it three times."

"By all means, try and defeat me," Zabuza chuckled. "But you'll have to deal with Haku as well, you know. Since he was a toddler, I've beaten fighting techniques into him. Even in the face of unimaginable adversary, he has always prevailed. He has become a killing machine, a true shinobi. And his kekkai genkai is one of the most formidable around. I have honed a weapon with the sharpest edge, unlike the scraps of trash that follow you around."

Kakashi snorted as he revealed his Sharingan and pulled his hand away from Zabuza's kunai. "Is there anything more boring than listening to somebody brag? The chatting is over, Zabuza."

"You know, you said something during our last encounter," Zabuza said. "Something along the lines of 'just so you know…the same jutsu won't work on me twice!' Since I had a chance to see the famed Sharingan in action, I was able to figure out how it works. I wasn't just letting you hand my ass to me on a silver platter; I was testing your abilities. Haku was hiding up in the trees, observing our every move. Haku has a very analytical mind; for him to see a technique is for him to understand everything about it."

In that moment, Zabuza disappeared into the mist.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sasuke grimaced as he stood up and began attempting to dodge Haku's senbon again. _'He's not aiming for vital areas. Even Naruto aims for more sensitive areas during training. Although, that might not be a very good comparison. But then there's this technique he's using; is it a clone technique of some sort? I'm being hit from all sides before I can even see him move. But if it's a clone of some sort, then why bother with the mirrors? Whatever technique this is, these mirrors are the key!'_ he analyzed. _/Sakura. Naruto. Got anything?/_

_/Reflection of mirrors is key,/_ Naruto signed back. _/He moves very fast. Not clone. Only speed./_

Sasuke's eyes widened. _'I should have known Naruto would be the first to figure out his technique; her eyes are the most observant. So he uses the reflective properties of the mirrors to increase his already impressive speed to such an extent that we can't even see him! If that's the case, then maybe, if given enough time, my eyes could adjust.'_ _/Naruto, get Sakura out. Sakura, attack with katon. I'll protect with doton,/_ Sasuke instructed.

Naruto formed a cross-like seal and muttered "_Kage Bunshin_," as dozens of clones burst into life. Sakura quickly took advantage of the distraction and leaped out of the dome of mirrors. Moments later, all of Naruto's clones had been destroyed by Haku's needles and Sakura was just outside the dome of mirrors.

"It won't end like this," Sasuke announced smugly. "We have dreams to fulfill!"

Haku stopped moving, and his head dropped slightly. Sasuke's eyes narrowed in suspicion. _'What is he thinking?'_ the Uchiha wondered uneasily.

"I find it difficult to embrace the full shinobi philosophy," the fake Oinin admitted. "I cannot help but hope that you three not force me to kill you. However, if I must, I will kill my heart with a blade and act as any other shinobi would. This bridge is where we, and our destinies and dreams, meet and combine. Not all of them will come out again. I have my dreams as you have yours. Please try not to resent me, but I will do whatever it takes to protect my precious person. I will fight for him, I will murder for him. To do so is my own dream. To do that, I will become a true shinobi and kill all three of you."

0o0o0o0o0o0

'_This fog is too thick to be the normal _Kirigakure no Jutsu. _Zabuza shouldn't be able to see more than a foot in front of his face, but then again, neither can I,'_ Kakashi thought grimly. _'What exactly is he up to?'_

The whistle of metal flying through air reached Kakashi's ears only a couple of seconds before a volley of shuriken entered his range of vision. He blocked them all with the kunai clutched in his right hand, but it was a close call. _'This mist makes it hard to predict his movements,'_ Kakashi observed.

"You blocked those nicely, but I expected no less from Sharingan no Kakashi," Zabuza chuckled from behind the silver-haired Konoha jounin.

Kakashi turned around immediately, but started slightly when he saw that Zabuza had his eyes closed. Zabuza's apparent understanding of his Sharingan's workings combined with his student's peril had him on a rather short fuse, and even he could tell that he wasn't thinking as clearly as he normally did. _'How long has it been since I've had a fight like this?'_ Kakashi frowned inwardly. _'I've let myself get weak. When I was in ANBU four years ago, I would have been able to take out Zabuza during our first encounter.'_ Peacetime could be as deadly as war. Kakashi was a prime example of that fact.

"The next time you see me will be the last," Zabuza murmured ominously. "You've overestimated the power of your Sharingan." With that, the former Kiri-nin melted into the mist and his voice began to echo once again. "You pretend it enables you to see all, but you've turned out to be a false prophet. You cannot read my mind or the future. Your prized Sharingan is simply a hoax, a cheap trick used to psych out your opponents. To be more specific, it combines the Sharingan's ability to predict the movements of another and its ability to cast genjutsu. By using those skills in unison, you can predict the movements, thoughts, and techniques of your opponent. You analyzed my body movements, copied them, and used the speed of your mimicry to induce fear and insecurity. You then calculated when those emotions would reach their peak before suggesting which technique I preformed through the use of genjutsu. And then all you have to do is copy that suggestion! Knowing that, it was quite simple to create a counter-measure. All I have to do is hide myself in this thick mist and limit your range of vision while I close my eyes to cancel out any chance of you casting a genjutsu on me. And since I am a master of silent killing, all I have to do is wait for you to make a sound!" Zabuza crowed triumphantly.

Kakashi grimaced as he was forced to block another set of shuriken. _'He's seen completely through it. I guess that trick really won't work anymore,' _he realized grimly.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sasuke quickly wove the seals for his technique before stomping one foot on the ground and muttering, "_Doton: Iwa no Tate_!"

A dome of stone erupted from the ground and surrounded Naruto and Sasuke, blocking them from Sakura's view. She quickly completed her own set of hand seals and intoned, "_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu_!"

She breathed out a giant ball of fire that engulfed Haku's dome of mirrors. Seconds later, it faded, only to reveal that she had barely damaged the mirrors at all. _'What?' _ she thought in shock. _'Those mirrors must be pretty strong if they're holding up that well against a katon.'_

Sakura had only one technique that was more powerful then the _Goukakyuu_, but it was draining and her chakra reserves would be depleted by the time it was completed. _'But if it means I can help defeat this Haku guy, I'll do it!' _Sakura decided. _'I won't lose!'_

With that, her hands once again began to form seals. She took a deep breath before spitting out a small, pebble-sized ball of fire. "_Katon: Yurika_!" she announced.

Upon contact with the bridge, the small fireball exploded into a dozen different sheets of flame that together formed the shape of a lily, lighting up the surrounding area with a brilliant orange glow. Sakura grimaced when she saw that the flames had only melted one or two of the mirrors. _'At least it's better than none at all,' _she reasoned. "Shit!" she swore as her knees buckled underneath her, sending her crashing to the floor. Her breathing was harsh and it was hard to keep her eyes open. "Damn…it…" she muttered as she lost the battle to stay conscious. _'Sasuke-kun, Naruto…it's up to you now. Don't you dare lose!'_

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi leaped backwards as soon as his sensitive ears caught the loud whistling of a massive object flying through the air. He just barely missed being sliced in two by Zabuza's blade, which smashed into the bridge instead.

Zabuza laughed again. "You may have dodged this time, but your ability to read my movements has been fogged up by this mist. Heh, I will enjoy this, Kakashi! Don't worry, Haku should be finishing off those brats of yours right about now. You'll be reunited with them shortly. You can beg for their forgiveness in the afterlife."

"No," Kakashi interrupted. "I have faith in their abilities. As a team, they are as unbeatable as your Haku. Sakura's intelligence, Naruto's scheming, and Sasuke's ability as a fighter make them a perfect team. And they all come from worthy ancestors; Sasuke is the only survivor of the Uchiha Clan, Naruto is the last Uzumaki, and Sakura is the granddaughter of Haruno Mihu, the Aka-shi."

Zabuza's eyes widened in shock before he disappeared into the mist again. "To think that one of the Uzumaki survived the massacre... nobody knew. I hadn't heard any news of Haruno Mihu having descendants either. I suppose it's no wonder that they are more powerful than your average genin. But either way, they cannot win against Haku!"

"Zabuza, do you really think that I survived with only the Sharingan? I too was once an ANBU. What I'm about to show you isn't something I learned with the Sharingan, but a technique I created myself," Kakashi declared as he pulled a scroll out of one of the pouches on his vest.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto pressed her lips together worriedly as Sakura's chakra lowered to a level that indicated she was unconscious. _/Sakura unconscious,/_ she signed to Sasuke. _/I'll make clone to protect. You distract./ _

Naruto barely caught Sasuke's nod in the dim light. The dome collapsed into a pile of rubble, leaving Sasuke's heavy breathing and exhausted state much more obvious. _'If we don't finish this soon, we're screwed,' _she thought. _'Thankfully, Sasuke's eyesight is starting to adjust.'_

Sasuke quickly formed a mass of _Tsuchi Bunshin_, allowing Naruto time to create her own _Kage Bunshin_. It leaped out of the dome of mirrors immediately and picked up Sakura before moving off to the far end of the bridge.

"You two move well," Haku commented. "But your friend is unconscious. My next move will take you down."

Naruto grimaced as she caught the blur of Haku's senbon heading toward her neck. _'Fuck! I'm not fast enough to-!'_

She was saved by Sasuke's arm around her waist as he pulled her down to the ground. Naruto looked up at him in surprise. _'How did he-? He's not faster than me, and his eyes shouldn't be able to keep up with Haku's speed!'_ she thought. But then she saw that his eyes had turned crimson. The right eye held two tomoe while the left held one. _'He's awakened the Sharingan,'_ she realized. _'Tch. He's probably ahead of me in strength again now.'_

"I see," Haku murmured. "You too possess a kekkai genkai. I am afraid I cannot allow this to drag out any longer as my own technique takes up a lot of chakra. Please forgive me."

'_I'm at a severe disadvantage here,' _Naruto realized. _'I can barely see Haku, and my speed isn't even close to matching his.' _When she saw Haku blur towards her, she threw out a massive amount of chakra in an attempt to deflect him in some way. For a moment, she could sense everything within the range of her chakra – Haku's attack, Sasuke's movements – but that all faded when she felt Sasuke's chakra lower dangerously.

Sasuke stood in front of her, six needles skewered through his neck at various angles. "Why?" she gasped out, on the verge of crying.

"You idiot," Sasuke gasped out, somehow able to keep speaking. "Remember what Kakashi taught us? Those who don't protect their comrades…are lower than trash. Don't you dare die, Naruto."

Sasuke collapsed backwards, his eyes shut. His chakra flickered.

And died.

There was still a little left of course, but chakra remained in a corpse for a period of three to five days.

Once again, Naruto's world shattered. Somebody she had cared about had just _died. _This is what she had been trying to prevent; she had been trying to spare herself from the gut-wrenching pain of watching a precious person die in some way or another.

Gods, it hurt so bad. She just wanted the pain to end. She wanted somebody to pay. And…Sasuke's killer was right in front of her.

An irrational rage swept through her; in her head, she knew that death was an unavoidable part of the shinobi lifestyle, but her heart didn't give a shit about what her head thought. And at that moment, it was her heart that was in control.

"He was worthy of admiration," Haku said, his voice almost gentle. "He went into what he knew full-well to be a trap to save a comrade. Is this the first time a comrade of yours has died? Such is the life of a shinobi."

"Shut up…" Naruto whispered hoarsely as a foreign, malevolent chakra coursed through her body. _'I'm never going to forgive you, Sasuke.' _"You're dead!"

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi's eyes widened when an enormous, horrid chakra emerged from seemingly nowhere. _'Is this Zabuza's doing?'_ he wondered suspiciously. _'No. This isn't human chakra, but it's oddly familiar. Wait, this is the Kyuubi's chakra! Has the seal slipped after all this time? By the feel of it, it hasn't broken completely. If I finish this quickly, there's still a chance-!' _In one lightning-fast motion, Kakashi unraveled the scroll he was holding and swiped a finger covered with his blood across the series of kanji. "Listen to me, Zabuza," he said. "I'm a busy man. You're a busy man. We've both got a lot on our plates. It goes against the grain to even suggest this, but what do you say we stop screwing around and finish this? One big move, winner take all?" Kakashi asked as he rolled up the scroll again and held it between his thumbs and hands as he formed the tiger seal.

"Sounds intriguing," Zabuza answered darkly. "Show me what you've got!"

Kakashi formed a series of four hand seals, clutching his scroll the whole time. When he was done, he slammed his scroll on to the ground and directed a large amount of chakra into it. Kanji came alive and, like living creatures, spilled out of the scroll and onto the ground. "_Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu_!" he murmured quietly.

"This posturing will get you nowhere, Kakashi! You can't even tell where I truly am! On the other hand, I know exactly where you are and how to defeat you! You are completely enmeshed in my technique!" Zabuza boasted.

Suddenly, a large crack and crash echoed throughout the mist as Kakashi's dogs burst out of the ground.

"When your eyes and ears have let you down, you can always rely on your nose," Kakashi said as the mist faded slightly to reveal Zabuza, trapped by eight ninken of various sizes biting down on him in some form or another. "This technique worked because you shut your eyes in the mist. This summoning technique was designed specifically for tracking. That's why I allowed you to stab me in the hand. The smell of my blood was all over you and your weapons – there's no way my ninken could have missed it. So, care to tell me who's enmeshed in who's technique now? The fog is lifting. I can see your future…and it is death."

"'My future is death?' I've had enough of your bluffs," Zabuza snorted.

"Who's bluffing now? There's no way out of it. You're going to die. You've had your fun, Zabuza. The day you left Kiri, all of your information was given to Konoha's Oinin squad. We all know about your failed coup you staged. You've been trying to raise funds for a second attempt, which is what has lead you to work for a leech like Gatou," Kakashi said as he formed the three seals necessary for his original technique. Lightning gathered around his palm, forming a condensed, pale blue ball of electricity. "_Raikiri_!"

"Tch…"

"You're a loose cannon. The man you are trying to kill, Tazuna-san, is the heart and soul of this place. The bridge you are trying to prevent him from building is this country's hope. You're willing to sacrifice this country and everybody in it just to further your own ambitions. _That's not what a true shinobi does._"

"Spare me the philosophy lesson. I've always fought for my own ideals, and I'm not about to stop now!"

"I'll say this just once more. Give up. Your future is death."

Zabuza rolled his eyes. Kakashi sighed, but charged forward, his right hand extended towards Zabuza's chest.

His _Raikiri_ pierced it like a hot knife through butter. Zabuza convulsed once before he died, his gaze disbelieving. Kakashi closed his eyes in a short moment of silence for a man who had always fought for his own ideals and lived his life to the fullest. Then, he pulled his hand out of Zabuza's chest and raced towards the half-shattered dome of mirrors.

He was greeted by the sight of a seemingly dead Sasuke and a Naruto at least partially controlled by the Kyuubi.

The blonde was surrounded by an aura of crimson chakra that took the form of a fox with elongated ears and three tails. Her normally tame hair was wild and her naturally blue eyes were bright red. The air resonated with the Kyuubi's vile chakra. _'This is bad,' _he thought.

An unmasked Haku lay on the floor across from Naruto, a giant wound most likely caused by the Kyuubi's chakra claws going from the top of his right shoulder to the bottom of his ribcage. He was barely conscious and would be dead within half an hour, but that wasn't really what Kakashi was worried about. The jounin buried his grief for Sasuke and called out gently, "Naruto, listen to me."

His response was a clawed foot formed purely of the Kyuubi's putrid chakra. He managed to duck the first swipe, but he wasn't fast enough to dodge the second. The Kyuubi's claws ripped diagonally across his chest, leaving three bloody slices that tore through his clothing, exposed bone, and cracked several ribs. He was set flying back by the force of the blow.

Kakashi gasped out in pain and surprise. _'Is this what Naruto is forced to hold back every day? My god…'_ "Naruto," he whispered, pleading, "please listen to me."

He coughed violently, sending some blood up into his mouth, which he quickly spat out before replacing his mask.

Naruto looked as if she was about to attack again, but she was distracted by the thud of a cane against stone.

"Well," a short, fat man with pale brown hair that Kakashi recognized as Gatou said, "It looks like it's a good thing that we came here today, eh boys?"

He got a roar of agreement from the mob of thugs behind him.

Kakashi grimaced underneath his mask. _'I'm in no condition to fight right now, Sakura's unconscious, Sasuke's dead, and Naruto's as likely to kill me as she is to kill our enemies.'_ He let out a pained groan and collapsed to his knees as his wounds flared with pain. _'The Kyuubi's chakra seems to work as a poison. I won't be able to fight at all.'_

"Kill them all, boys!" Gatou ordered.

The thugs rushed forward with a roar. Naruto's head whipped around and a feral grin spread across her face as she leapt into the fray. She ripped apart man after man with the Kyuubi's chakra claws – Kakashi refused to think of them as _her _chakra claws. They were butchered like pigs. Little by little, they were whittled down until there was only a dozen left. Bodies were tossed randomly across the bridge, and the entrails and blood of the men where splattered all over the place. It was a gruesome sight to behold.

Only when every single one of them, including Gatou, was gone, did the Kyuubi's chakra start to fade.

0o0o0o0o0o0

In her rage, Naruto had lashed out at anybody and everybody who had come near her. Now that almost everybody on the bridge was dead except for two chakra signatures she vaguely recognized as allies and another which was too weak to pose any threat. Slowly, the rage faded from her alongside the Kyuubi's chakra.

As the inhuman chakra left her system, the realization of what she had done kicked in. Her breathing sped up and her hands trembled as she looked around her and saw the results of her rampage. All of the memories were there, even if they were tinged with the red of her own anger and the Kyuubi's chakra. She could remember slaughtering all of those men. She could remember almost killing Kakashi. _'Oh god,' _she thought, _'What have I done?'_

When she looked at her hands, they were covered in blood.

Naruto quickly turned around only to see Kakashi collapsed on the ground, bleeding heavily from three long slices over his chest.

Madara's voice echoed through her mind. _"You're a danger," _it mocked.

'_I…I almost killed my own _sensei. _He taught me almost everything I know, and this is how I repay him? I…Madara was right. I am a danger. A security risk. The villagers were right to shun me.'_

Naruto trembled before she disappeared, unable to face her teammates in the face of her shame and self-hatred. The last thing she saw was Kakashi's sad, almost pleading look.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sasuke groaned softly as he returned to consciousness.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," a soft, sad voice said.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he immediately looked towards the owner of the voice. It was the boy he had met in the forest several days ago, yet, he was wearing the outfit of the fake Oinin his team had been fighting.

_Ten Days Ago_

_Sasuke was taking a short walk through the forest outside of Tazuna's house. He entered a tiny clearing, only to find an androgynous…somebody…picking herbs._

_The person looked up. "Oh, hello."_

_Sasuke gave the stranger a small smile. "Are you a boy or a girl?" he asked bluntly._

_The stranger laughed quietly. "A boy," he replied. _

"_So what are you doing here?"_

"_Gathering herbs to help one of my friends get better. He got injured badly a week or so ago. I don't know what I would do if I he died."_

"_Hm."_

"_You must be a shinobi, right?"_

"_Mhm."_

"_I think that a person can become truly strong when they have somebody precious they want to protect. Don't you?"  
_"You…You're that boy," Sasuke said hoarsely. "You were working for Zabuza all along?"

Haku smiled weakly. "Yes. I'm sorry I lied to you."

Sasuke winced slightly when the large wound across Haku's chest. He was going to die soon. "Why?" the Uchiha asked quietly. "Why did you follow a scumbag like that?"

"…I can tell from the look in your eyes that you have experienced the pain of not knowing your purpose in life. At one point in time, you didn't have anybody, did you? You were all alone, with nobody there to comfort you.

"I was similar. During the time of my childhood, in Kiri and the surrounding villages, kekkai genkai were viewed as harbingers of death and destruction. Everybody who had one was hunted down and killed. My mother had a kekkai genkai, but she had gone into hiding. One day, my father found out and killed my mother. He tried to kill me as well, but my kekkai genkai activated and killed my father. Thus, the only family I had ever had was dead.

"What I felt afterwards was the most painful thing. I had to accept that I was unwanted; superfluous. But Zabuza-san saved me from that. He acknowledged me and coveted the blood that everybody else hated. If somebody accepted you for everything you were and everything you weren't, wouldn't they become your most precious person?"

Sasuke looked away from Haku momentarily as he thought of his teammates.

"Please try and understand what I did."

Sasuke did. He could understand Haku's motivations and his feelings. He let out a lengthy sigh. "Who won?" he asked finally.

"…Kakashi killed Zabuza-san and I will be dead soon as well. Gatou showed up with a few thugs, but they are dead as well."

"I see…" Sasuke murmured as he slipped into unconsciousness once again. He knew Haku would be dead by the time he woke up again. Surprisingly, that knowledge hurt.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi hissed as the pain in his chest flared up again. Tazuna, Sasuke, and Sakura were all safe, resting at the bridge-builder's house, but he needed to find Naruto before she did something stupid. There was simply no telling what she was thinking right now. Not only had she made her first kill, she had also released a chakra that, to his knowledge, she didn't know she had.

He sniffed the air, thankful that he had finally caught a trace of Naruto's scent. It led deep into the forest, following a small river that carved through the island. A couple of kilometers later, he found Naruto sitting on the riverbank, her hands and feet dangling in the frigid water. She was still covered in blood.

Kakashi was careful not to mask too much of the sound of his footsteps. He didn't want to surprise Naruto, especially not when she was in her current state. "Naruto," he greeted quietly.

"Hatake-san," the blonde replied, her voice blank and emotionless.

Kakashi frowned at the unusual form of address. Naruto always called him "Kakashi-sensei". "Naruto, what-?" he asked.

He was cut off by Naruto. "When we return to Konoha, I will request to be pulled out of your team," she interrupted. "I will not endanger you or your students any longer, Hatake-san."

Kakashi's frown deepened as she implied that she wasn't one of his students. _'Is this all about her losing control of the Kyuubi?' _he wondered. 

"If it's worth anything, I am sorry that you've had to put up with me for so long. Being constantly reminded of the monster that caused your sensei's death could not have been easy."

'_She's _not _leaving my squad.'_ "Naruto," he said quietly. At the sound of his voice, Naruto looked away, refusing to meet his eye. "Let it go. I didn't die."

She didn't respond.

"Besides, what would you do if left Team 7 anyway?"

"I'd drop out of the shinobi program and become a civilian before leaving Konoha," Naruto replied automatically.

Kakashi's eye widened in surprise. _'Drop out of the shinobi program?'_ he repeated mentally. _'Leave Konoha?' _"Why?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm a danger."

Kakashi's eye narrowed in suspicion. _'This isn't something she came up within the hour or so she's been alone. This has been festering in her mind for a long, long time.' _"You are not," he said resolutely.

"I cannot control the Kyuubi's power. I am a danger."

"Then become strong enough to control it."

"Even the Yondaime couldn't control the Kyuubi. If somebody like him couldn't, there's no hope of somebody like me succeeding."

"He's your father. The new generation always surpasses the previous."

"…Perhaps."

Kakashi's jaw clenched angrily at Naruto's careless attitude. "Don't act as if you're only purpose in life is to be strong!" he snapped. "You're twelve, for god's sake! The fact that you survived this mission is a miracle in and of itself!"

"You were a jounin at the age of twelve. Uchiha Itachi was in ANBU at that age. As for the first thing you said…what else do I have to live for, Hatake-san?"

"If you left Konoha, Sasuke and Sakura would cry," Kakashi admitted, his voice softer.

"No they wouldn't."

"I would miss you."

"No you wouldn't. You'd be grateful that the monster that killed your sensei was gone."

Kakashi wasn't normally an impulsive person, but he couldn't stop himself from slapping Naruto across the face. The force of the blow almost sent Naruto tumbling to the floor. "Look at me, damn it!" he snarled as Naruto avoided his gaze once again. "Look at me!"

The blonde hesitantly met his gaze, her blue eyes empty except for the resignation within them. From the look in her eyes, she thought he would actually try and kill her. And she wouldn't stop him.

"Don't call yourself a monster," Kakashi whispered. "You're not the Kyuubi and you never will be."

"But that's all that matters, isn't it?" Naruto replied quietly. "The only thing other people else care about is the Kyuubi and my strength as a murderer, Hatake-san."

"No," Kakashi said steadily. "Sakura and Sasuke care about you as a person, not just you as a shinobi. I do too."

Naruto snorted disbelievingly and looked away. "What's there to like? I'm sarcastic, rude, and bitchy. I'm not a nice person. I don't have any redeeming qualities. I'm a tool. A weapon of mass destruction created by Konoha to slaughter, to kill, to murder. If I can't fulfill even that purpose, then there's no point in living."

Kakashi could practically feel his own frustration. "While you may hide it underneath your defenses of sarcasm and blankness, you are a kind person on the inside. Would a mere weapon bother learning iryoujutsu? Would a monster even care if an ally was hurt?"

"That does not change the fact that I am too weak."

"Then become stronger!"

Naruto sighed. "What's the point?" she muttered. "I'm obviously not doing my job as a jinchuuriki. It would be better to pass the Kyuubi on to somebody else."

"You do know you'd _die_ if the Kyuubi was extracted from you?"

"Yes."

"Don't talk about your own death so carelessly! Don't you know what would happen to everybody if you died?"

"Yeah, I do, Hatake-san. Nobody would give a shit."

"Sasuke and Sakura would cry. Anko too, probably. I would miss you."

"Sasuke and Sakura wouldn't give a fuck one way or another. I'm not worth Anko's tears. There's no reason that you would miss me."

"You've managed to get Sasuke to open up and you helped turn Sakura into a real kunoichi. You are one of the very few friends Anko has. As for me, I rather enjoy your sarcasm. It keeps things interesting."

Naruto didn't comment.

"The fact that you have a low opinion of yourself won't stop you from becoming one of the best shinobi Konoha has ever seen. It won't stop you from learning to control the Kyuubi. I have faith in you, Naruto. One day you will be able to do it."

Naruto looked up at him in shock.

"Let's get back to Tazuna's house."

"Yeah. And thank you…Kakashi-sensei."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Jutsu List

_Hijutsu: Sensatsu Shuishou_

English: Secret Technique: One Thousand Water Needles of Death

Rank: B

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, Short-Range

Creator: Haku

Description: After the hand seals are completed, a cloud of one thousand senbon formed of water appear around the target, surrounding them from all sides. However, no needles form above the target, allowing for an escape route.

_Hijutsu: Makyou Hyoushou_

English: Secret Technique: Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors

Rank: A

Classifications: Ninjutsu, All Ranges

Creator: Haku

Description: This technique forms a number of ice mirrors predetermined by the user. It takes advantage of the reflective properties of the mirrors and the user's impressive speed to create a variation of the _Shunshin no Jutsu _that is so fast the normal world seems to slow down around the user as they use it.

_Doton: Doryuuheki_

English: Earth Release: Mud Flow Wall

Rank: B

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Defensive, Short-Range

Description: After the hand seals are formed, the user slams their hand or foot into the ground. A thick wall of earth or stone will form in an area decided by the user's chakra. The shape of the wall can also be manipulated by a skilled user. Alternatively, the user can spit out a wall of mud from their mouth.

_Doton: Iwa no Tate_

English: Earth Release: Stone Shield

Rank: B

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Defensive, Short-Range

Description: Once the necessary hand seals are completed, a dome of stone will surround the user and anything standing close to them.

_Katon: Yurika_

English: Fire Release: Fire Lily

Rank: B

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, Long-Range

Description: As the hand seals are completed, the user spits out a small, compressed ball of flame about the size of a pebble. When the flame hits something solid, it will explode outward into several sheets of fire which together take on the form of a lily.

_Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu_

English: Summoning: Earth Release: Tracking Fange Technique

Rank: C

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Offensive, All Ranges

Creator: Hatake Kakashi

Description: This is a variant of the _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_. After the target is marked with the user's blood, the user pulls out a scroll and smears their blood on to it before preforming the necessary hand seals and placing the scroll on the ground. The ninken are summoned underground and then burst up through the ground to capture the enemy.

The title of this chapter is Dance with the Devil by Breaking Benjamin


	7. Scroll 1, Chapter 7: Sell Your Soul

Hi no Ishi, Scroll One: Kannabi

Full Summary: As Orochimaru and his allies threaten to topple Konoha, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke are becoming the leaders of their generation. The question is, will they survive the Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen or end up like the previous Sannin – broken? AU diverging at the Chuunin Exams. FemNaru because I can. Team 7-centric.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, unfortunately.

A/N: OMG guys, I am so sorry I didn't update sooner! I was all ready to post this chapter when my computer caught a virus that deleted everything on the hard drive. Then I had to re-download everything including the Microsoft Office programs. And then I got sick. Like I-have-a-102-degree-fever-and-I-can-barely-move sick. Yeah. Not fun. Anyway, thank you all for your reviews. When I'm sad, or sick, or tired, I read all of my reviews. They make me happy. And yay, the plot thickens!

Glossary

Hi no Ishi – Will of Fire

Kannabi – Where the Gods Do Not Help

Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen – Fourth Great Shinobi World War

Nami no Kuni – the Land of Waves

Fuuinjutsu – Sealing Techniques

Shi no Mori – Forest of Death

Yuurei no Mori – Forest of Ghosts

_We thrive in the chaos of the enemy tide;_

_Quiet shinobi don't need dens to hide._

_Our only concern is to watch and to wait_

_Until the enemy lowers the gate._

_-The Ninki_

Chapter Seven: Sell Your Soul

"My, my, it's been a while, hasn't it, E?"

The Yondaime Raikage, a tall, heavily muscled man with white hair wearing metal gauntlets that wrapped around his forearms and a giant wrestler's belt as well as the typical robes of the Raikage, whirled around in his chair as soon as the snake-like voice reached his ears.

A man with long black hair and snake-like purple markings around his golden eyes lounged carelessly against the large window that made up the wall at the back of the Raikage's desk, his pupils were slit like those of a snake.

E recognized him immediately. "Orochimaru…" he muttered, his eyebrows furrowed with his fury."What are you doing here?"

"I have a proposition for you," Orochimaru said calmly, as if he couldn't sense E's building anger.

"I don't want to hear it! Leave, now!"

"Such a short temper. You haven't changed at all, have you?"

"OROCHIMARU!" E roared. The Raikage slammed his fist into the desk behind him, shattering it easily.

A twisted smirk spread across Orochimaru's pale face before he moved towards the center of the room. E, however, scowled deeply; his office was small and not exactly the best of places to fight in.

The Raikage's office was built in a circular fashion around a tall, cone-like mountain in the center of Kumogakure. E couldn't fight in the village properly, as the citizens of Kumo could easily be caught in the crossfire. That meant the only option would be to fight directly on the mountainside itself by using chakra to stick to the slippery stone slope.

That in mind, E activated his _Kaminari no Yoroi _and surrounded his entire body with crackling pale blue electricity. He raised his foot up and slammed it down, hard. It went straight through the metal and wood floor like a hot knife through butter, forming a hole that was a good four feet in diameter that E immediately fell through. He plummeted through the air for a second or so before he landed roughly on the mountainside, cushioning his fall with massive burst of chakra.

Orochimaru landed above him a few seconds later. Four cloaked figures jumped through the hole E had created and attached themselves to the mountainside in rectangular formation around Orochimaru and E.

"_Shishienjin_!" they announced in unison as they clapped their hands together.

_'This…this is an Uzumaki Clan technique!'_E realized. "Heh, so now you're going around stealing the techniques of others…you've really fallen, Orochimaru. But now, I shall teach you the true meaning of fear!"

0o0o0o0o0o0

"That bastard Raikage!" Orochimaru raged three days later. He was sitting up on a bed in a stone room within one of his many hideouts.

His arms had been cut off at the elbow by E's lightning-cloaked hand. Now, all he had was a pair of useless, bloody stumps. All of his ninjutsu, gone, just like that! E would pay for it.

"I'm sorry, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said again, adjusting his glasses with his forefinger. "I cannot reattach the limbs, once more than four hours have passed."

Orochimaru bared his teeth and snarled, "That piece of trash ruined all of my plans! I can no longer mark Sasuke-kun, nor will I be able to take on Konoha with only Suna and Oto!"

"Well, then the only choice is to ally ourselves to other villages, isn't it?" suggested Kabuto.

Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly before his mouth formed a cruel smirk. "Intelligent as ever, aren't you? I can easily manipulate the leaders of Kusagakure and Takigakure given enough time, and there are ways to convince Kiri and Iwa to join us."

"But that will take time, the original plan was to smash Konoha in one strike."

"Perhaps. But things will also be much more interesting this way; after all, a spinning pinwheel is much more interesting than a still one, and the Shinobi Nations have been still for much too long…"

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sasuke's hand skimmed over the scrolls as he searched for one among the thousands within his clan's archives. When Naruto had explained the full story of her clan and how she had gotten the Falcon Contract, it had reminded him of something. Years ago, a good eight months before the Massacre, his mother had told him the story of Uchiha Hana, a famed matriarch of the Uchiha Clan from the Nidaime Hokage's time.

Uchiha Hana had been the best among the handful of Uchiha who created ninjutsu instead of simply copying the work of others. She had created several katon ninjutsu, all of them named after flowers –_Katon: Housenka, Katon: Yurika_, _Katon: Hana Bakuha_, and the infamous _Katon: Sakura Senpuu._She had also been famous for one other thing; finding the Cat Contract.

His memory wasn't perfect, but he vaguely recalled his mother telling him that generations of Uchiha had signed the Cat Contract, but only once they had been deemed worthy. The people who chose to summon the cats were put through a series of trials, and if they completed all of their tasks successfully, they would be allowed to summon the cats whenever they needed too.

It took Sasuke another thirty minutes to find what he was looking for: a thick scroll edged with red with the kanji for cat painted on to the end. Sasuke pulled the scroll out of its place on the shelf and unrolled it to be sure that it was what he thought it was. The names of several Uchiha, along with their handprints, were written on the scroll in blood. _'Perfect, '_Sasuke thought as he bit his thumb and began to write his name in the next empty space.

The moment he pressed his bloodied fingertips into the paper, a strange prickling sensation filled his whole body before he disappeared with a puff of smoke.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Damn it, Sakura, I don't want to go shopping!" Naruto bitched as Sakura forcefully tugged the Uzumaki towards her favorite store.

"Too bad! I've had it with that horrid outfit anyway! Besides, we ruined most of our clothing on the mission to Nami no Kuni, so we need to get more."

"Oh, for-!"

With that, Sakura pushed open the door to Ryuusei's Shinobi Closet, which sold basically everything a shinobi needed. Ryuusei's sold the best weapons in Konoha, hands-down, and Sakura knew the owner's daughter, TenTen, pretty well. However, despite their rather impressive array of explosive tags and sealing scrolls, Sakura would go to Naruto for anything fuuinjutsu-related. Naruto's tags were as good as any sold in a store, and they were free too.

"Hey, Sakura, how're you doing? It's been a while." a brown-eyed girl whose brunette hair was tied up into two buns called from behind the cashier desk at one side of the store. She wore a pink, Chinese-style top and dark green pants cut off just above the ankles. A Konoha hitai-ate was displayed proudly across her forehead.

"I'm good, thanks, how about you?"

"Fine. How are your swords?"

"Sharp as ever. You just want an excuse to look at them, right, TenTen?"

"Damn straight."

Sakura's chuckles broke out into a full-blown laugh. Naruto sighed moodily, looking as if she would bolt at the first opportunity.

"So, who's your friend?" TenTen asked.

"Uzumaki Naruto, my teammate. We're here to get some new clothing."

"Sure. Do you know if she'd be interested in some of our weapons or tags?"

"Go right ahead and talk about me as if I wasn't here," Naruto spat out. "I have my own weapons, and my tags are better than yours, thankyouverymuch."

Sakura nearly gasped at Naruto's rudeness. "Naruto!" she reprimanded. "Don't be so rude!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…"

TenTen, now looking slightly miffed, pointed out the clothing section to Naruto, who walked off, hands in her pockets.

Sakura turned back to TenTen and sighed. "I'm sorry, TenTen. Naruto's just…a little different."

"I've seen her type before. She probably went through some sort of childhood trauma." TenTen shrugged.

"Well, she is an orphan, but that's all I know. She never really talks about herself…"

"Anyway," TenTen said, "the clothing you ordered is ready."

"That's great!" Sakura chirped. "Can I see it?"

"Sure, I have it right here." TenTen said as she pulled up a roughly rectangular package from underneath the desk. "Changing rooms are in back."

Sakura sent TenTen a grateful smile before taking her package and walking towards the changing rooms that TenTen had pointed out.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sasuke let out an irritated groan as he managed to avoid being crushed by the paw of giant black cat that was almost taller than the forest they were in. He was battered, bloody, bruised, exhausted, and thirsty, but the cats hadn't let up yet. He was on the last of the trials, and it was reasonably simple; he had to avoid being crushed until noon.

Thankfully, it was almost over. Sasuke dodged another vicious swipe that would have easily taken off his head before the cat attacking him suddenly stopped, an odd expression in his bright green eyes.

"Your trials are finished," the cat said. "You have passed the test and are now eligible to summon the cats as your companions in battle. You have proved that you have the determination and the will to not give up, true grit and willpower will bring you a long way. A shinobi is one who endures, remember that."

A cocky, proud smirk spread across Sasuke's face. _'I did it. Heh...'_

With that, he fell into unconsciousness.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Twenty minutes later, Sakura had paid for her order and walked out the door with Naruto in tow, both of them wearing new sets of clothes. Sakura's order had been for a red dress similar to her old one, except for the fact that the left arm had no sleeve, while the right one was reminiscent of that of a kimono. She had also tied her hair back into a braid.

Naruto's outfit actually reminded Sakura a bit of Mitarashi Anko's. The eccentric purple-haired woman had visited Team 7 while they were training several days ago, and that short visit had already installed a healthy respect for the older kunoichi within Sakura; she had no doubt that Anko would seriously injure anybody that crossed her path.

Naruto's outfit consisted of a fitted, sleeveless, dark gray shirt, a forest-green skirt split up the sides, and mesh leggings underneath a black trench coat. The blonde was also wearing a pair of ANBU-style gloves, which Sakura found odd, since she knew for a fact that Ryuusei's didn't sell that particular model. _'Naruto probably just bought them somewhere else.' _Sakura reasoned.

"Why were you so rude to TenTen, Naruto?" Sakura asked after a moment of silence. "You've never even met her before."

Naruto rolled her eyes and replied enigmatically, "Its better this way, in the end."

No matter what Sakura tried, she couldn't get Naruto to say anything more than that.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sasuke sighed as he flipped through the pages of the book he was reading. _'Any sort of time-space manipulation takes an impossible amount of seals, all in exactly the right order. For what I plan on doing, I'll also need the hand seals for earth manipulation…in the end, it would take more than fifty hand seals. Such a technique would be virtually useless in battle unless the series of hand seals was somehow shortened. It should be possible for me to use earth chakra to get rid of the earth-related seals, but that still leaves a good forty or so seals for the time-space part of the technique. And then there's the matter of figuring out what order the seals go in…this isn't going to be easy,'_Sasuke thought grimly._'This technique will take months, if not years, to develop, even with the Sharingan. However, once it's done, it will easily be S-Rank.'_

Sasuke smirked cockily as he took another book off of the shelf.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura sat in the center of a clearing, legs crossed, and hands resting on her knees. To the outside world, she was the perfect picture of serenity. Within, however, was another matter entirely.

The day after she had gone shopping with Naruto, Sakura had found two rather important things within her grandmother's scrolls; the Wolf Contract and notes on manipulating one's mindscape.

Sakura had immediately signed the Wolf Contract, and, after passing the rather grueling tests the Wolf Clan presented, read her grandmother's notes on the mindscape.

It turned out that for every hour that passed within one's mindscape, only one second had passed outside, making training within one's mindscape an ideal practice by allowing training to be completed in one-sixtieth of the time it would normally take. However, staying within the mindscape for an extended amount of time could cause irreparable damage to one's brain, so it had to be used cautiously.

Sakura's mindscape, ironically, was an open field populated by cherry blossom trees. Information was engraved on to some of the trees, detailing every moment of her life. Other trees were engraved with a name; those, she found out, revealed her feelings toward that person when she touched them.

It was here that she had been finishing her training with fire manipulation.

Sakura closer her eyes and breathed deeply to calm herself and her chakra before her hand lashed out through thin air. A crescent-shaped arc of flame exploded from her hand and sliced through the air before dissipating a moment later._'Well, at least I've got a sealless_Katon: Kaen Engetsu_down...'_Sakura thought.

Sakura attempted to form a ball of flame in her hand, but failed. She grimaced, but continued her training.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Across Konoha, Naruto sat in a hidden corner of the Shi no Mori, surrounded by a complicated, spiral-shaped seal she had found during one visit to the Yuurei no Mori. It was well beyond her abilities to replicate, but she could supply the chakra to use it.

Once a certain amount of chakra was used within the area of the seal, it would suck in and contain any and all chakra within a twenty-meter radius. It was perfect for what she was planning.

What Naruto was about to do was probably incredibly stupid, but she couldn't bring herself to give a shit. She was tired of constantly fearing that the Bijuu within her would take control, she was tired of watching her every move and reacting violently towards surprises for fear that she would find an Akatsuki member around every corner, She was tired of living in a village where sixty percent of the people hated her guts so in short, she was tired of being a jinchuuriki, not that she could do much about it. But…she could find a way to use the Kyuubi's power like the Yondaime had intended in the first place. Kakashi had been right; after she did a little more research on the Yondaime Hokage, it had become clear that he was a merciful, kind man and not one likely to create a jinchuuriki without good reason, he must have had some ulterior motive. A couple of weeks ago, Naruto had discovered that the seal was partially reliant on her own willpower and chakra; an inanimate object didn't have such things, which would have caused the seal to be much weaker, and that would have been a very, very bad thing. Also, although it was a stretch, it might have been possible for him to have somehow known of Uchiha Madara; it would certainly make sense. It also seemed plausible that Madara was somehow involved in the Kyuubi Attack, since he had used the Kyuubi during his final battle against the Shodaime Hokage. Naruto knew Madara's life better than her own; after she had met him, she had frantically searched for any sort of information on the former Uchiha Clan leader. However, she had overlooked one source; the Kyuubi himself.

Not that that was the whole reason she was going to speak with the strongest Bijuu. She had other motives as well.

Naruto settled down in the center of the seal and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was looking within, not without. Her mindscape wasn't the most welcoming; it was made completely of ice and was devoid of any sort of cheer.

"Let the lost be forgotten, and the rest never forgiven…" an eerie voice whispered.

Naruto jumped. _'Heh,' _she thought, snorting, _'Afraid of my own mind.' _Naruto cracked her knuckles before taking a better look at her surroundings.

It seemed to be a maze of sorts; mirrors, doors, and passageways filled Naruto's line of sight, she let out a heavy wave of chakra that confirmed her guess; twisting halls, walls, and dead ends seemed to fill her mindscape. Every once in a while, a door would appear, and some of them had kanji engraved into them while others were seemingly blank. _'I really have to hone my sensory abilities,' _Naruto decided. _'At the moment, the only way I can sense things is by letting out a burst of chakra and using it as a sort of sonar, but it takes so much chakra that any shinobi worth their salt is able to feel it.'_

Naruto moved forward and placed her hand on the mirror embedded into the wall of ice. As soon as she touched it, a reflection of herself appeared. However, the reflection had crimson eyes with slit pupils and its whisker marks were much thicker and darker than they were on her.

"Fire to ashes, diamonds to dust, all things go as they must…"

Naruto shuddered jerked her hand backwards. As soon as she broke contact with the mirror, the reflection disappeared. _'These mirrors…they're not normal. It's almost as if they show different parts of myself that I keep hidden, deep inside…'_

Naruto turned towards another mirror, and willed it to show her its contents. A small, blonde girl slowly faded into view. She was curled up into a fetal position, crying. Her bangs hid her eyes from view. "Alone, I cry in a world so cold, where hidden truths lie, untold…"

Naruto gulped and willed the picture to disappear. _'That…that was me, from a long time ago.' _She shivered, but it wasn't from the cold. She shook her head viciously before wandering down one of the halls, hopefully towards the Kyuubi.

Naruto wandered through the halls of her mind for what felt like hours, the eerie whispers of her reflections following her the whole way. Finally, at the very edge of her range of detection, an ominous, vile, chakra made itself known. Naruto immediately headed towards the source of the chakra, thinking, _'That has to be the Kyuubi.'_

It only took her ten or so more minutes to find the location of the Kyuubi's seal. Two rose out of the ground, formed completely of ice. The kanji for seal was engraved upon the area where the two gates met. "Kyuubi." Naruto called out calmly. The water in her breath froze upon contact, but surprisingly, she didn't feel cold.

Slowly, two giant eyes opened from within the depths of the cage. They were exactly like the ones she had seen in the first mirror – only this time, they belonged to a Bijuu, not a reflection. "So you've finally come to me, fleabag?" the Kyuubi sneered.

"I have," Naruto said stolidly. "and I'm here to make a deal with you."

Four monstrous claws the size of fifty-year-old tree-trunks lashed out through the bars of the Kyuubi's icy prison. "Do not test me, fool!" the Kyuubi roared, letting out a huge blast of killing intent.

Naruto trembled at the pressure of the Kyuubi's chakra. _'What an inhuman energy,' _she thought. _'It's no wonder the Bijuu were so feared.' _"I can test you all I want," Naruto taunted. "With that seal there, it's not like you can do anything."

This time, the Kyuubi's full body entered Naruto's sight. He was absolutely huge; his head alone was easily the size of a tall building, while his body was easily comparable to a small mountain. He threw all of his massive weight against the gates, causing the bars to rattle and creak against his weight. "I may not be able to escape now," the Kyuubi snapped, "but whenever your emotions boil, it is another matter entirely. Surely you haven't forgotten what you did to that scarecrow?"

Naruto flinched backwards at the reminder of what had happened on that fateful bridge. "Then I won't allow my emotions go out of control," she retorted sharply. "I won't let you beat me, you overgrown, rabbit-eared ball of fluff!"

Instead of sending him deeper into his rage, Naruto's words seemed to amuse the Kyuubi. The Bijuu began to laugh hysterically. Eventually, the fox calmed down enough to say, "Your audacity humors me, fleabag. What is this deal you speak of?"

Naruto smirked. "As I am sure you are aware of, you are weak as you are now. You are trapped within what you see as a weak, frail prison."

"Get to the point, brat!"

"There is no guarantee that you will escape even if I die. We can either be strong together, or weak together. There is no middle road. I want you to give me full access to your chakra –_without_the risk of you hijacking my mind."

"Fool! You think you, a weakling of unmatched caliber, would be able to control my chakra, even if I _was _willing to give it to you?"

"You've lived in my body for almost thirteen years, you've caused me an unimaginable amount of pain, you are the reason I will have to spend the rest of my life running from one of the most powerful shinobi to ever walk this land, forever afraid of what hides in the shadows. I think you owe me this much, at the very least. As for me not being able to control your chakra…you never know until you try, right?"

The Kyuubi snorted. "Hehe, you have guts, I'll admit that. All right then, I'll give you access to my chakra – but only if you can pass this test! I'll give you my chakra, but you'll have to figure out how to control it by yourself!"

With that, the Kyuubi retreated back into the depths of his cage while crimson chakra poured towards Naruto. As soon as it made contact with Naruto's feet, pain caused by what felt like the hottest of fires coursed through her body. She shuddered, and began to scream. "Sonovabitch!" she grit out.

She was there for another hour and a half...

0o0o0o0o0o0

Jutsu List

_Kaminari no Yoroi_

English: Lightning Armor

Rank: A

Classifications: Nintaijutsu

Description: The user turns a significant portion of their chakra into lightning and molds it around their body to form a "cloak" of electricity. The Yondaime Raikage based this technique off of the Bijuu Cloaks of the jinchuuriki.

_Shishienjin_

English: Four Violet Flames BattleEncampment

Rank: B

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Mid-Range, Offensive/Defensive

Description: Four people form a rectangle around whatever it is they wish to contain. After the necessary hand seals are completed, four walls and a ceiling of purple chakra will form, creating a cage-like prison. Anybody that comes into contact with the wall will burst into purple flame.

_Katon: Hana Bakuha_

English: Fire Release: Flower Explosion

Rank: A

Classifications: Ninjutsu, All Ranges, Offensive

Creator: Uchiha Hana

Description: After the hand seals are finished, balls of fire about the size of a_Housenka_fireball will seemingly melt out from the user's body before exploding outwards in all directions. The fireballs are blue and white in color.

_Katon: Sakura Senpuu_

English: Fire Release: Cherry Blossom Whirlwind

Rank: S

Classifications: Ninjutsu, All Ranges, Offensive, Kinjutsu.

Description: Once the hand seals are completed, hundreds of large_Goukakyuu_-sized fireballs will form in the air within a 20-meter radius of the user. Torrents of chakra meant to reinforce the technique discolor it, turning the fireballs dark purple, blue, white, red, and occasionally black. The fire can then be controlled and manipulated at the user's will. Because this technique does not discriminate between friend and foe, it was sealed and marked as a kinjutsu.

_Katon: Kaen Engetsu_

English: Fire Relase: Flame Crescent Moon

Rank: C

Classifications: Ninjutsu, Mid-Range, Offensive.

Description: After the hand seals are finished, the user makes a slashing motion with their arm. A trail of fire will follow their fingertips and form a crescent-shaped blade of fire that will fly towards the desired direction for 10 meters before dissipating.

The title of this chapter is Sell Your Soul by Hollywood Undead.

B/A: Hey everyone, this is the new beta speaking! I'd just like to introduce myself to all the faithful readers of this fanfic, 'cause its the nice thing to do, y'know? I'm Pancake of Epic Proportions, and I hope I do a good job beta-ing this story~ You all most likely won't see many notes from me, so...yeah. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!


	8. Scroll 1, Chapter 8: I Will Not Bow

Hi no Ishi, Scroll One: Kannabi

Full Summary: As Orochimaru and his allies threaten to topple Konoha, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke are becoming the leaders of their generation. The question is, will they survive the Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen or end up like the previous Sannin – broken? AU diverging at the Chuunin Exams. FemNaru because I can. Team 7-centric.

A/N: Hello all. Here it is, finally. Unbetaed cause I wanted to post this for y'all. I'll post the betaed version when Pancake of Epic Proportions is done. Thank you for all your support and reviews!

Disclaimer: I got everything I wanted for my birthday except for the ownership papers to Naruto.

Glossary

Hi no Ishi – Will of Fire

Kannabi – Where the Gods Do Not Help

Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen – The Fourth Great Shinobi World War

Kerakukei – Chakra Coils

Gejimayu – Centipede Eyebrows. What Team 7 calls Lee until they find out his real name – and what Naruto continues to call him anyway.

Baka – Idiot

Ura – Reverse

Hai – Yes, Sir

Iryoujutsu – Medical Techniques

Kikaichu – Destruction Bugs

_Forever the damned endure._

_-Konoha ANBU motto_

Chapter Eight: I Will Not Bow

Kakashi immediately caught the faint sound of a hawk's shriek as he idled away from his meeting with the genin element of Team 7. Those particular types of hawks were trained to fly to certain people and were used as invitations to meetings in the Hokage's office. He disappeared in a puff of smoke a moment later, teleporting to the Hokage's office.

When he wandered in, only twenty minutes late, the present shinobi were already discussing the upcoming Chuunin Exams. _'It's that time of year all ready?' _Kakashi blinked.

"How kind of you to join us, Kakashi," the Sandaime remarked dryly.

"Well, you see, I kind of got lost," Kakashi said cheerily, not bothering to look up from his book. Snorts and disbelieving sighs echoed throughout the room. He ignored them easily.

"As I was saying before, the Chunnin Exams will commence two days from now on the first of July," the Hokage said. "I'll start with those that are mentoring the rookie genin. Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, do any of you wish to nominate your teams for the exam? You probably already know this, but your teams must have completed at least eight missions to be eligible for the Chuunin Exams, however, twice that number is recommended. Let's start with Kakashi."

Kakashi closed and pocketed his book. "I recommend Team 7, consisting of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto for the Chuunin Exams under my name."

Beside him, a woman with red eyes and slightly curly black hair stepped forward. She wore purple eye shadow and a unique dress made of white bandages with a single red sleeve. Her right arm was wrapped in bandages. "I, Yuuhi Kurenai, recommend Team 8, containing Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino for the Chuunin Exams."

Asuma, a bearded chain smoker with black hair wearing the typical jounin attire, was next. "I recommend Team 10 – Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Yamanaka Ino – for the Chuunin Exams."

Immediately, the muttering started.

"All three of them recommended their teams!"

"It's been several years since rookies have appeared in the exam…"

"Please wait a moment!" somebody shouted.

Kakashi turned slightly to see his student's former teacher, Umino Iruka, stepping out from the crowd.

"What is it, Iruka?" the Hokage asked.

"Please let me speak, Hokage-sama," the chuunin pleaded. "I may be overstepping my bounds, but the nine genin just nominated were my students six months ago. They are all talented, but it is much too early for them! They need more experience before they enter the exam!"

"I was a Chuunin six years before any of them became genin," Kakashi murmured, his voice colored with irritation. Every single member of his team was ready for this exam.

"They aren't like you!" Iruka protested. "Are you trying to ruin them?"

"Iruka-sensei, I can understand where you're coming from," Kakashi interrupted.

"Kakashi, stop it," Kurenai sighed.

"Don't interfere!" Kakashi said, ignoring Kurenai. "They are no longer your students. They are soldiers under my command."

"But the Chuunin Exam is-! I still can't agree with this! They may be under your command now, but they were once my students! I know them well!"

"Iruka is right, you know," a jounin with thick eyebrows and black, bowl-cut hair said as he stepped forward. He wore a green spandex jumpsuit underneath his jounin vest. "It isn't that easy. You're in too much of a hurry. I made my team wait for a year so they could gain more experience. Wait until they enjoy their springtime of youth a little more."

Kakashi snorted. "They may screw up occasionally, but in the end, it will be your team that's biting the dust, Gai."

"Stop this immediately," the Hokage ordered tersely. "The rookies' jounin-sensei have recommended them for the exams. They will be permitted to take the exams. That is final. I will now take the recommendations for the non-rookie teams."

"That's one obstacle down," Kakashi said.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto struggled to keep her eyes open as she slouched against the railing of the bridge. _'Fucking overgrown, rabbit-eared, yellow-bellied, bastardized sonova-!' _she ranted mentally, cursing the Kyuubi and the damage his chakra had done to her kerakukei.

_"You have such a mouth for a young lady,"_ Kyuubi commented from within her head.

_'Who's the lady-? Wait - WHY ARE YOU IN MY HEAD?' _Naruto demanded.

_"Your contact with my chakra allowed me to forge a connection between our minds, among other things. At least this way I can warn you when you're about to fuck up like you always do."_

_'Among other things?' _Naruto raged. _'You're not one to call me a fuck-up – you're the one that got sealed in me in the first place!'_

_"Don't remind me, brat! Do not forget who the superior between us is! I will not be your tool or your weapon to show off as you wish! I can break our contract at ANY TIME I WISH, so show some respect, you piece of shit!"_

_'Touchy aren't we?' _Naruto sneered.

_"DON'T FUCK WITH ME YOU-!" _

Experimentally, Naruto slammed a wall of pure will between her mind and the Kyuubi's. Thankfully, it worked, allowing her to descend into merciful silence once more.

"-ruto! Naruto! Hey, are you listening to me?" Sakura demanded.

"Huh?" Naruto replied intelligently, only bothering to open her eyes halfway.

Sakura sighed irritably. "Geez, Naruto. If you're sick or whatever, you should just take the day off."

"I'm fine," said Naruto shortly.

Sasuke snorted in disbelief from his position behind Sakura.

Naruto was saved from further interrogation by Kakashi's arrival. "Hello!" he greeted with his usual half-fake cheer. "I got lost on the path of life today and…"

"LIAR!" Sakura interrupted.

"Anyway," Kakashi said once the Haruno had calmed down, "this may come as a bit of a surprise, but I've recommended the three of you for the Chuunin Exams."

"Say _what_?" Sakura blinked in disbelief.

"Good one, sensei, that almost worked," Naruto snorted, her tone clearly sarcastic.

Kakashi ignored them and brought out three applications. "You have to fill these applications out. Of course, the choice of competing is entirely yours. If you choose to take the exams, report to room 301 at the Academy at 16:00 tomorrow. Well, that's it!"

He disappeared with a puff of smoke a moment later.

_'Optional, eh?' _Naruto thought. _'This could be a good chance for me to improve my skills and test my fighting abilities against opponents besides my teammates and random bandits. I'll sign up.'_

"Thissounds like a good chance for all of us, don't you think, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"Hn."

"I knew you'd agree! Naruto, you're going to enter too, right?"

"Somebody's gotta make sure you don't get your asses killed."

"If we're going to take the exams, we need to do research first," Sakura commented. "We need to know what these exams are really about and who we're up against."

"Naruto, do you think you'd be able to get into the official files for the incoming teams?" Sasuke questioned.

Naruto went through the floor plan of the Hokage's office in her mind before adding in the guard rotations and trap locations that she had memorized over the years. "It would be possible," she admitted finally.

"I'll go see what these exams are really about then," Sasuke said. "Sakura, you'll need to prepare some stuff for us. Bandages, soldier pills, and the like."

"Consider it done," smiled Sakura. All of them disappeared with a swirl of leaves a second later.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"I wonder where Naruto is," Sakura frowned. "She's usually so adamant about being on time." The blonde was five minutes late, which was really nothing compared to Kakashi, but Naruto always showed up on time. She wasn't ever early, but she wasn't late either.

"Right behind you."

Sakura started violently in surprise at her missing teammate's voice. She turned around immediately and a grin broke out across her face as she saw Naruto standing behind her, hands in her coat pockets. "Naruto!" she chirped, "We were worried about you!"

Naruto shrugged carelessly.

"Naruto, what did you find?" Sasuke asked, interrupting Sakura's forthcoming rant.

"There are a lot of countries involved in this set of exams, more then there normally are. All of the main countries except for Kumo have sent genin to take the exams. Taki, Oto, Kusa, and Ame are also participating. I've memorized the information on the foreign teams that might give us a problem and written down everything else. The proctor for the first exam is Morino Ibiki – he's the head of the T & I branch of the ANBU, by the way - the second is Mitiraishi-san, and the third Gekkou Hayate."

"Good," said Sasuke. "From my research, it seems these exams are basically a replacement for war between countries during peacetime."

Sakura's eyes widened. _'A replacement for war?' _she repeated mentally. _'What-?'_

"The true purpose of the Chuunin Exams is to test the strength of a county's shinobi. If one country does well, more missions will come in and the village will prosper. If a village does badly, on the other hand, they will get fewer missions. Basically, these exams are battles for prestige and honor – and we are the warriors. People have died in these exams."

Even Naruto fell momentarily silent at these words.

"There are three tests. The first is a test of your mental skills, the second puts you under a simulated mission in dangerous territory – say, the Shi no Mori for example. The third is a tournament where the people that pass the first two exams fight each other in front of spectators from visiting countries. Depending on their performance in the tournament, people may then be promoted to chuunin. While it is, in theory, possible for everybody to become a chuunin, it is also possible that nobody will become a chuunin."

_'This all sounds so dangerous,' _Sakura thought. _'Are we really ready for this? Am _I _really ready for this?' _

"Sounds like fun," Naruto added, grinning slightly now.

"Either way, it will be easy," Sasuke added calmly. "We're good. We'll win this."

Sakura couldn't help but share some of Sasuke's confidence. If he thought they could do it, then she would do her best for both of her teammates. "So what's our game plan?" Sakura asked.

This time, it was Naruto who answered. "Since you two were among the best in our year, you'll attract attention from everybody, so it might be best if you basically flaunted your strength – it might keep some people from messing with us. Especially you, Sasuke. And then there's the group from Iwa…" Naruto's jaw clenched as she grit out the last part. "They might recognize your surname, Sakura."

"What about you, Naruto?" Sakura demanded worriedly. "I mean, Iwa thinks they completely wiped out the Uzumaki Clan. What will happen when they figure out what _your _surname is?"

"That's why I'll be doing my best to stay in the background. But if they come looking for a fight, I will _not _back down," Naruto answered tersely.

"Naruto," Sasuke muttered, "whatever happens, don't be an idiot."

"What on earth are you talking about, Sasuke?" Naruto said innocently. "Cautious is my middle name."

Sasuke snorted disbelievingly. All three of them entered the Academy doors through unspoken agreement only a second later.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Hah! Is somebody as talentless as you really considering entering the Chuunin Exams?" a boy with spiky black hair snorted.

His partner, also male, snickered, "Heh, you said it!"

The genin that the duo had knocked down, a black-haired boy with thick eyebrows, a bowl cut, and a green spandex jumpsuit, stood up as his teammate, Ryuusei TenTen, stepped forward. "Please let us pass," TenTen pleaded.

Sasuke frowned as the spiky-haired one knocked TenTen to the floor. _'Is this really the TenTen Sakura keeps talking about? Something's not right…' _

Sasuke activated his Sharingan momentarily to confirm his suspicion. As he thought, TenTen was casting a genjutsu that gave the illusion of bruises her and her teammate's faces. They were probably doing their best not to attract attention, although that might be hard, since their third teammate was a Hyuuga dressed in beige and black.

"You should be grateful!" the spiky-haired one said. "The Chuunin Exams are incredibly hard. We would know, because we've all ready failed three times. There are some people who finished the exam and then left life as a shinobi. Some were crippled. Some were reduced to vegetables in a coma. Also, chuunin are the team leaders. The responsibility for failed missions and dead teammates lies solely on their shoulders. And yet despite all this, you brats have the nerve to reply? We're just skipping a step by weeding out the weak ones beforehand."

Sasuke glanced at Sakura, who nodded back. Naruto rolled her eyes and made a waving motion with her hand towards the two people blocking the door.

Sasuke and Sakura stepped forward, Naruto trailing behind them. "That's good in theory," Sasuke commented as he made his way through the crowd, "but you might as well drop the genjutsu. My team has business on the third floor."

"So you figured that out, at least," the boy on the right said.

"You were the first to notice, right Sakura?" commented Sasuke. When his pink-haired teammate looked at him in slight shock, he continued, "You have the best genjutsu abilities on our team."

Sasuke did not miss the faint blush that spread across Sakura's cheeks, but he chose to ignore it all the same.

"But that's not enough!" the one on the left finished as he dropped to the ground and began a sweeping kick towards Sasuke. Sasuke angled his own kick so it would pass over his opponent's easily. However, his leg was halted by the boy in the green jumpsuit that had been kicked around earlier. Gejimayu had stepped in between Sasuke and his opponent and caught both of their kicks with only his hands.

_'The hell?' _Sasuke thought, _'That guy's really strong. It's almost like he's a completely different person from the one who was getting beaten up a moment ago.' _

"This isn't what we agreed to, Lee," the Hyuuga scowled. "You were the one who insisted we not draw attention to ourselves.

"B-but…" Gejimayu, now known as Lee, protested, a slight blush spreading across his cheeks as he looked towards Sakura and held up a clenched fist. Sasuke's imagination almost added miniature flames burning within Lee's eyes, but he crushed the image before it could take hold.

Lee walked up to Sakura, a cheery smile tugging at his lips. "Hi!" he greeted, giving Sakura a thumbs-up. "I'm Rock Lee, and you're Sakura, right? Will you go out with me? I'll protect you with my life!"

Sasuke shuddered at the light glinting off of Lee's teeth as the spandex-wearing genin grinned.

Sakura's jaw looked as if it had come unhinged. "Hell no!" she screeched. "You're way out of line!"

Immeadiately, Lee's expression fell to resemble that of a kicked puppy. "S-Sakura-san…" he whimpered.

"You with the black hair," Lee's Hyuuga teammate said suddenly. "You're a rookie, correct? How old are you?"

Sasuke smirked arrogantly. "None of your business, Hyuuga," he snorted. "Sakura, Naruto, let's go. I think I'm catching stupid."

Naruto snickered at the Hyuuga's irritated expression while Sakura hurried up to follow Sasuke.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura blinked when Naruto suddenly stopped and looked up towards the roof, where a sort of observation deck extended from the stairs to the third floor. Following her teammate's gaze, Sakura saw that the green-clad genin from before was standing on top of the deck.

"Hey you with the dark hair!" Lee called. "I challenge you to a test of strength, here and now!"

Both of Sakura's eyebrows rose at that. _'Is he some kind of idiot?' _she wondered. _'Everybody knows how strong the Uchiha Clan was, and challenging somebody who is either your equal or your better just before an exam is not exactly logical...' _

It was then that Lee jumped down to land in front Team 7. "My name is Rock Lee," he said, introducing himself again. "Among sticklers, etiquette demands that you introduce yourself before asking for the name of another…Uchiha Sasuke."

"So you knew who I was all along," Sasuke snorted.

"I'm calling you out! I want to test my techniques against the last member of your legendary clan. And besides…"here Lee trailed off, blowing a kiss towards Sakura.

Sakura shuddered in disgust. "Keep your kisses to yourself, Gejimayu!" she snarled. It was a bit creepy to have a guy she just met – and a very, very odd one, at that – hitting on her.

"Hey, don't be like that," Lee pouted. He rendered a kicked puppy voice very well, Sakura noted.

"You're challenging me, even knowing of my clan? In other words, you're a fool," sneered Sasuke. "Gejimayu, do you really want to learn what it means to fight an Uchiha?"

"Absolutely!"

"Prepare to lose," Sasuke smirked as he slipped into his fighting stance.

"Sasuke-kun, stop! We only have twenty minutes until the exams start!" Sakura warned.

"This will only take five minutes," said Sasuke cockily as he raced towards Lee.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura snapped. When the Uchiha didn't respond, she demanded, "Naruto, do something!"

But Naruto was sitting on the floor fiddling with one of her seals and ignoring Sakura completely. The Haruno didn't even bother yelling at her blonde teammate; she knew it wouldn't make any difference.

Sakura scowled. _'It would serve him right if he lost,' _she thought irritably.

"_Konoha Senpuu_!" Lee called as he leaped off the ground and sent a lightning-fast spin kick towards Sasuke. Sasuke managed to duck Lee's first kick, but he was forced to block the follow-up. Sakura was deeply shocked when Lee's kick connected.

_'What? But I _saw _Sasuke block that!' _she thought.

This time, when Sasuke stood up, he had activated the Sharingan, allowing Sakura to notice that both of his eyes had two tomoe now.

Sakura smiled as her confidence in Sasuke was renewed. _'With the Sharingan, whatever ninjutsu or genjutsu this Lee guy used to get past Sasuke's block will be revealed and copied. Even if he is a year older then us, Lee will have a hard time winning.' _

But when Sasuke and Lee clashed again, Sasuke was sent flying upwards by a precise, perfectly-preformed kick to his chin.

Sakura gasped in shock. _'But he was using the Sharingan! If he couldn't see through the technique, then Lee must just be using taijutsu!'_ She bit her bottom lip as Lee carried out a seamless _Kage Buyo _with what appeared to be no effort at all. _'Lee's way better than any of us gave him credit for.' _

"That's right," Lee said from his position behind Sasuke. "No ninjutsu. No genjutsu. However hard you may find it to accept, my moves are purely taijutsu. While it's true that your Sharingan is an amazing ability against ninjutsu and genjutsu with their hand seals and chakra manipulation, taijutsu is another matter entirely. While you may be able to copy and predict my movements, you do not have the strength or speed to use or block my techniques. In other words, your specialization in ninjutsu and genjutsu and mine in taijutsu make us a complete mismatch!"

With that, Lee began to unravel the bandages on his forearms.

_'What's he up to now..?' _Sakura worried. The Haruno glanced nervously at Naruto, who hadn't so much as twitched the whole time. _'Ugh…' _

Suddenly, a pinwheel, of all things, flew out of nowhere and pierced through one of Lee's bandages and pinned it to the wall. Lee was rendered unable to move and had to drop to the ground. Sasuke did the same, looking slightly worse for wear and more than a little shocked.

"That's enough, Lee!"

Sakura turned around to see that the speaker was…a turtle? _'Must be a summon of some sort,' _she reasoned when she saw the Konoha hitai-ate tied around its neck. The turtle was an odd shade of yellow-orange and it had black spirals on its shell.

"You know the rules! That move is strictly forbidden!" the turtle barked.

"Please forgive me, I was only…" Lee groveled. "I never would have used the _Ura_,"

"Baka!" snapped the turtle. "Do you think I care about your feeble excuses? I hope you are prepared for Gai-sensei!"

Even Naruto had looked up from her seals to watch the odd dialogue with an expression somewhere between confusion and disbelief.

A cloud of smoke erupted from the turtle's back, signaling some sort of summoning. An older version of Lee wearing an unzipped flak jacket as well as the green spandex suit and orange leg-warmers appeared in a most disturbing pose. It might have been considered provocative – on a supermodel, anyway – but when the older Lee slipped into that posture the result equaled permanent mental scarring. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all wore similar expressions: dropped jaws and eyes as big as dinner plates.

"H-he's got even bigger eyebrows!" stuttered Sakura.

"And the same hairstyle…" Sasuke muttered.

"One of them was bad enough," grumbled Naruto.

"Hey! Don't insult Gai-sensei!" Lee yelled.

"Lee!" Gai called as he held out his hand, still keeping his hips in that disgusting angle.

"Wha-? Oh, hai!" the younger of the two spandex-wearing shinobi said.

When Lee was close enough, Gai lashed out with a strong punch. "Baka!"

Gai kneeled down on the floor in front of where Lee had landed. "Lee," he sniffed, beginning to cry fat tears.

"Gai-sensei," Lee answered, beginning to cry himself.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

The two shinobi latched on to each other in a passionate man-hug. If it was even possible, Team 7's jaws dropped further and their eyes stretched wider.

"I understand! It's because you're young!" Gai cried. "It's all right Lee, the Springtime of Youth and mistakes go hand in hand!"

"You…you are to kind, sensei!"

"But I can't let your attempt at rule-breaking go unpunished. Your punishment shall be administered after the Chuunin Exams – fifty laps around Konoha!"

_'Fifty laps around Konoha?' _Sakura thought in disbelief. _'That's like two hundred kilometers!' _"They really must be crazy…"

"I can agree there," Sasuke said dryly.

"By the way," Gai said, looking up, "how is Kakashi-sensei?"

"You know Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura blinked.

"Do I know him? Heh…" chuckled Gai.

And just like that, he was gone. One second he was standing next to Lee and the next he was gone, vanished into thin air. Something hit the floor behind Sakura with a small thud, and she realized that it was Gai from the glaringly bright green she could see out of her peripheral vision.

"Some would call us eternal rivals! The score stands at fifty to forty-nine. I'm stronger than he is," Gai boasted, giving the genin a thumbs-up.

_'How the hell did he get behind us?' _panicked Sakura. _'He says he's stronger then Kakashi-sensei and I don't think he's lying!' _

_/Calm down,/ _Naruto signed.

Sasuke took no notice of Naruto's signals as he stared at Gai like what he had done was impossible.

"As you can see, Gai-sensei is totally amazing!" Lee declared. The genin of Team 7 ignored him.

"I know Lee started this fight, but for my sake, please forgive him," said as he tossed a kunai towards the pinwheel that held Lee's bandage to the wall, knocking it down. "You guys and Lee should head up to the examination room now. Good luck, Lee!"

After he had finished speaking, Gai disappeared in a puff of smoke.

As Lee finished rewrapping his bandages, he said, "By the way, Sasuke-san, I was lying before. The real reason I challenged you was to test my own strength in combat. And I am not the strongest of the Konoha genin…that would be my teammate, Hyuuga Neji. I entered this exam to take him on and prove myself to everybody. You're on my list too, so be prepared."

With that, Lee walked up the stairs and towards the examination room.

"Looks like that hot-shot Sharingan of yours isn't everything, huh, Sasuke?" Naruto teased.

"Shut up," grumbled Sasuke. "I'll beat him next time."

"You and what army?"

"Naruto!" Sakura reprimanded.

As always, the Uzumaki ignored her. "You saw his hands, same as me. Those scars and calluses are from training hard, day after day. That Gejimayu has worked harder than you ever have in your life, Sasuke. Being a genius isn't everything."

Indeed, Sakura had seen Lee's hands, but she had passed them off as an injury from a mission.

Just then, a full-blown smirk spread across Sasuke's face. "These exams are turning out to be interesting, aren't they?" he said.

"Yep!" Sakura smiled.

"Tch…" Naruto snorted in what both of her teammates knew to be agreement.

"Well then, let's go," Sasuke declared, his eyes full of new-found determination.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto looked up in surprise when she felt the comforting feel of Kakashi's chakra tickle at her senses. _'What's he doing here?' _she frowned.

"I'm glad to see all of you made it," Kakashi drawled as the three genin turned the corner.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'all of you'? Weren't these exams a personal decision?" she asked.

Kakashi shook his head. "These exams can only be taken by three man teams. If any of you had been missing, I would have stopped you from entering here. I didn't want any of you to feel forced into this decision."

_'I should have known Kakashi-sensei would come up with something like this,' _Naruto thought wryly.

"But you all came, and I couldn't be prouder of you. Now go in there and show them not to fuck with Team 7," Kakashi completed.

He was answered by a determined smile, a dark grin, and a cocky smirk. Then Kakashi disappeared with a cloud of smoke, allowing his students to enter the room.

The three genin automatically slipped into the delta formation that had been drilled into their heads, Sasuke at the lead.

"H-holy shit!" Sakura stuttered out once the door had closed behind her. She was staring wide-eyed at the large crowd of shinobi in the testing room. There were people of all sizes, ages, and nations in the room. The only feature that all of them shared was a mean look in their eyes.

The only sign of Naruto's shock was the fact that she blinked. _'Seeing this many people on file and then entering a room with all of them in it is quite a different experience,' _she noted.

"Sasuke-kun! I've missed you _so _much!"

Naruto let out a quiet sigh at the sound of Yamanaka Ino's screech.

"Ino-bunta!" shrieked Sakura. "Get your filthy hooves off of Sasuke-kun!"

"Hello to you too, Sakura. Still hoping that the mutant forehead look will come into fashion?"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"

Ino's teammates, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji, walked over to the group. They had looked much the same as they had at the Academy. Ino was another Sasuke fangirl, but she was clever and deceptive. She would likely go on to work in T & I or infiltration due to her clan's specialties. Shikamaru was a genius with strategies – but he was lazier then, well…then anything Naruto had ever seen. Chouji was something like the brute power of the team: his clan's taijutsu attacks were definitely nothing to sneeze at.

"There you are!"

Team 8 walked over from the left. Inuzuka Kiba, the shouter, was in the lead, his dog perched on his head as always. Hyuuga Hinata, the shy heiress of the Hyuuga Clan, stood to his left, and Aburame Shino, also an heir, stood to Kiba's right. "Looks like the gang's all here," smirked Kiba.

"Including you, unfortunately," Naruto said dryly.

Kiba wisely chose to ignore her. "Looks like all three of this year's rookies decided to apply. I wonder how far we'll all get. What do you think, Sasuke?"

"Trying to psych us out by acting tough, Mutt?" Sasuke snorted.

"Who needs to pretend? The way we've trained, there's no way you'll beat us!"

All of the members of Team 7 snickered simultaneously at that. Naruto walked forward so that the rest of the rookies could see her clearly. "That so?" she asked, smirking saucily.

"Hah! Of course! Not even a team with an Uchiha on it can beat the combined abilities of a Hyuuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka!" crowed Kiba.

Naruto's smirk turned positively predatory. "We'll see about that, won't we?" Mentally, she added, _'And the combined powers of a Haruno, Uchiha, and Uzumaki can kick your asses six ways to Sunday.' _

"You know, you guys should really quiet down."

This time, the speaker was somebody Naruto didn't recognize. It was a silver-haired boy maybe fifteen years old. He wore circular glasses, a sort of black-and-beige outfit, and slightly longer than average ANBU-style gloves. Naruto vaguely recognized him as Kabuto, an adopted member of the Yakushi Clan, which specialized in iryoujutsu.

"You guys are all rookies, just out of the Academy, all wet-behind-the-ears and runny-nosed," Kabuto observed. "This isn't a class field trip, you know. Open your eyes and look behind you."

Naruto twitched slightly at Kabuto's disrespectful address, but calmed herself with the thought that she probably would have said something similar. She couldn't deny that the nine rookies had been talking loudly – probably too loudly. Following his suggestion, Naruto glanced over her shoulder to see a group of Amegakure shinobi glaring at the nine genin. They were letting off a bit of killing intent, but she was able to shrug it off rather easily due to her encounters with Zabuza and Haku. The killing intent of a group of genin was nothing compared to Zabuza's.

"Those are Amegakure shinobi, as you probably know," Kabuto explained. "They're known to have very short tempers. Everybody's tense now, at the beginning of the exam, and I thought I'd warn you before somebody decides to screw the rules and beat the stuffing out of you. But then again, it's probably unavoidable, seeing as how you're rookies. I remember what it was like. My name's Kabuto, by the way."

Everybody had quieted down significantly. Finally, Sakura asked, "Kabuto-san? Is this your second time taking this exam?"

"Well, no. It's my seventh," admitted Kabuto. "Since these exams happen twice a year, I've been entering for almost four years now."

"So then you have a lot of experience, right?" Sakura said.

"Pretty much," Kabuto replied, smiling a smile that Naruto wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole.

"Yeah, that, and he sucks," Naruto muttered. She really, really didn't like this guy.

"Naruto!" Sakura snapped.

"No, no, she's right. I'm more suited to iryoujutsu then anything," Kabuto said sheepishly.

Naruto's suspicion of the boy only deepened. He was too damn polite for his own good. But at the same time, he was incredibly rude. He was open and cagey. He was an oxymoron, a complicated and aggravating puzzle.

Naruto didn't like people she couldn't understand. They tended to complicate life. Her life was built on a careful balance of lies, half-truths, and buried secrets. A balance that, if upset, would open a can of mutant worms and questions that she didn't want to answer.

"I think I'll share some information with you cute little rookies," Kabuto smirked as he pulled out a large stack of green cards that had the kanji for shinobi emblazoned on them.

"What are those?" asked Ino, her infatuation with Sasuke at least temporarily forgotten.

"In short, they are cards that have information burned into them using my chakra. This information can only be seen when I mold my chakra into the cards. I have four years of information in this deck."

Kabuto flipped over a card and pushed a small amount of chakra into it. A map of the Shinobi Nations faded into view. Along the bottom were the symbols of each village and how many genin they had sent to the chuunin exam. Three-dimensional chakra-holograph bars stretched from the center of each country, representing how many competing genin belonged to that country in a visual fashion.

"This map shows how many genin each country has sent to these chuunin exams," Kabuto added.

Naruto wondered how Kabuto had gotten his information. She had to break into the Hokage's personal files to get what she had – and that was something that was most definitelyillegal. She would've been thrown in prison for something like ten years if she had been caught. She had been able to get the files she wanted without being caught because she had been doing such things since she had been five and was therefore rather confident in her infiltration and stealing abilities. It made her wonder who exactly this Kabuto was. She had a hard time believing he was the genin he was pretending to be.

"Do you have any cards on individual shinobi?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, though my information is far from complete, I did create a set of cards for this year's applicants – including all of you. Is there anybody in particular you're looking for?"

"Rock Lee."

Kabuto nodded and pulled a single card out from the deck before showing it to the rest of the group. "Rock Lee is a year older then you guys. He has completed twenty D-Ranks and eleven C-Ranks. His teammates are Ryuusei TenTen and Hyuuga Neji while the team's sensei is Maito Gai. He has no known kekkai genkai, and his genjutsu and ninjutsu skills are horrible. On the other hand, his taijutsu is close to jounin level, and his weapons skills are nothing to sneeze at."

Naruto snapped back to attention when Kabuto mentioned Lee's taijutsu skills. _'Close to jounin, huh?' _It wasn't completely impossible. Lee had certainly proved himself to have taijutsu skills well above her own, and she was the best at taijutsu on her team. She would have to be careful of him.

"Suna, Iwa, Kiri, Taki, Kusa, Ame, and Oto have all sent the best of their genin. There isn't a lot of information on Oto since they're relatively new and small, but the rest of the villages are well-respected and strong. Everybody here is like Lee. They're handpicked, the best genin in the world. They have to be – this test is pitiless!" Kabuto finished.

"Th-this is starting to sound really h-hard," whispered Hinata.

"Don't worry about it! We'll kick everybody's asses, no matter how strong they are!" Kiba boasted.

Although she didn't voice it, Naruto had no doubt that her team would complete the exams, even if they weren't promoted. Kakashi's harsh training had insured that.

Out of the corner of her eye, Naruto saw three blurs heading towards the group of rookies and Kabuto. She sent a pair of quick glances towards her teammates to see if they had seen it as well. They had. Sasuke's hand slipped closer to his weapons pouch while Sakura's fingers danced lightly upon the hilts of her swords. Naruto retracted the fingers of her left into her coat, making contact with a seal that held dozens of poisoned senbon. The poison wasn't of the sort that would seriously injure or kill somebody, but it would serve perfectly as a warning not to attack again.

The first shinobi to attack was a boy, perhaps a year older then Naruto, with spiky black hair and a kind of face protector protruding from his hitai-ate. He wore a snake-skin patterned scarf and pants as well as a white shirt that read "death" three times and black arm warmers. His boots were standard issue. Wannabe Death Boy, as Naruto dubbed him, threw two kunai at Kabuto with average speed. _'Nothing to worry about there,' _thought Naruto.

All of the genin managed to easily dodge the kunai. But it seemed that the kunai were just a distraction making way for Wannabe Death Boy's teammate, Weird Straw Coat Guy. Weird Straw Coat Guy was wearing the same thing as his teammate except for the shirt, which had replaced the death characters with a vertical black stripe, and an unusual straw raincoat attached to his back that earned him his nickname. Weird Straw Coat Guy took full advantage of Kabuto's distraction by coming closer and pulling up his right sleeve to reveal a something that looked like an amplifier or speaker attached to his arm. Weird Straw Coat Guy then threw a reasonably fast right hook at Kabuto, who dodged it by ducking and edging backwards slightly. It was obvious that Weird Straw Coat Guy would be a more difficult enemy then Wannabe Death Boy.

However, only a moment later, Kabuto's glass lenses shattered and fell out of their frames. _'There must have been some sort of trick to that attack,' _Naruto thought, already beginning to assimilate possibilities in her mind. When Kabuto threw up a second later, the possibility that Kabuto's nose had been glanced during the attack was eliminated. _'Kabuto threw up and his glasses broke. Together, such things point to some form of vibration. Destruction of part of the inner ear would cause Kabuto to lose his balance and then throw up. Weird Straw Coat Guy has an amplifier on his arm, so maybe it produces a pitch of sound that can't be heard through normal means? Then why didn't the rest of us feel the attack? It must have been chakra-guided, somehow…'_

_/Sound,/ _Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all signed simultaneously. Various forms of amusement slipped over their faces when they realized that they had all come to the same conclusion at the same time. Naruto was willing to bet that Sakura, who had an unhealthy obsession with deadly objects, had thought of a weapons similar to Weird Straw Coat Guy's amplifier. Sasuke, on the other hand, had probably cheated with his Sharingan.

A girl with long black hair and matching eyes stepped up to stand beside Weird Straw Coat Guy and Wannabe Death Boy. The only difference between her outfit and the boy's was her top, which was padded armor, vaguely similar to what Konoha ANBU wore. Naruto named her Obscenely Long Hair Freak. According to their hitai-ate, all three of them were from Otogakure.

"Pretty sad for somebody who's been an applicant for four years, huh?" Wannabe Death Boy remarked smugly.

"Says the wannabe badass," snorted Naruto as she walked over towards Kabuto. "You'd be better off playing dress-up with mommy, y'know."

Naruto felt Wannabe Death Boy's killing intent soar up a couple of notches. "You okay, Kabuto?" she asked.

"I think so…It doesn't seem like that attack did too much damage," Kabuto replied, that too-nice smile on his face again.

Naruto nodded. If he said it was fine, she wasn't going to waste her chakra healing somebody she didn't really trust. Even if he was a Konoha-nin.

"You'd better add this to those cards of yours: the team from Oto are all going to make chuunin this exam!" Wannabe Death Boy boasted. He was promptly ignored.

"Shut up, you worthless bastards!"

A large cloud of smoke appeared in the front of the room just as a lot more chakra made itself known to Naruto. Perhaps fifteen Konoha-nin, probably chuunin-level and higher, were revealed when the smoke faded. They were wearing the gray uniforms of the ANBU T & I Unit. At the front was Morino Ibiki, tokubetsu jounin and head of the T & I Unit, feared throughout the Shinobi Nations as a man who could make anybody talk.

"I apologize for forcing you to wait," Ibiki said in that forbidding, terrifying tone of his. "I'm Morino Ibiki, the chief proctor for this section of the exam. Oh, and you brats from Otogakure! You can't just go around doing whatever the hell you want here. Or do you want to be disqualified?"

"Sorry, sir. It's our first exam. I suppose we got a little carried away…" Weird Straw Coat Guy drawled.

Ibiki snorted, clearly disbelieving Weird Straw Coat Guy's excuse. "From this point on, there will be no fighting without permission from the chief proctor of the exam. Any of you little piggies that break that rule are gonna be eaten after your houses have been blown down. No second chances."

"So this is a test for girly little fags?" Wannabe Death Boy jeered.

The members of T & I snorted. Naruto was tempted to join them.

Ibiki ignored him and explained, "The first section of the exams is about to commence. When you turn in your applications, you will be given a seating card. Go directly to your assigned seat. Do not pass go. Do not collect two thousand ryo. When everybody's seated, we will pass out the written part of the test."

Naruto smirked despite herself. She liked Ibiki's attitude. When she turned in her application, she made sure to give it to him. Ibiki looked her in the eye and returned her smirk when he saw something there. She was given a card for a seat somewhere near the front. Unfortunately, Sasuke and Sakura were both closer to the back. None of them were close enough for their system of hand signs to work properly. _'Damn,' _cursed Naruto.

An eybrowless boy with short red hair about her age was seated on her left. He had the kanji "love" tattooed on to the left part of his forehead in red ink. His pupilless, sea foam-green eyes were rimmed with black, possibly a birthmark or a sign of chronic insomnia. He wore a black shirt and matching pants over a fishnet bodysuit. A holster of long white cloth and leather held a large gourd to his back. His Suna hitai-ate was also tied to the holster. A strong undercurrent of bloodlust seeped out of his every pore. His mere presence had Naruto tense and wary.

At least the boy on her left was more average. He was a nondescript genin with slightly higher than average chakra reserves. He had brown hair and eyes. He was wearing dark green pants and a matching shirt. If anything, he seemed a little too average in Naruto's mind.

"Papers down until I give the signal," ordered Ibiki as he tapped the blackboard at the front of the room with a piece of chalk. "I have to go over the rules first. I will go over them all and explain them in detail, but I will not be taking any questions.

"Number one: Each of you starts out with ten points. This test has ten questions, each worth one point. I will subtract one point for each question that is wrong or left blank. If a member of your team gets all the answers wrong, the whole team will fail. Number two: This is a team competition. If your collective score is high enough, you will pass. If not? Say goodbye to that chuunin vest you were set on getting. Number three: if, during the exam, you are caught cheating, two points will be subtracted from every member of the cheater's team. If one team is caught cheating five times, they will fail and then be asked to leave."

_'…Okay…this is officially the weirdest test I have been forced to take. Why the unusual rules about cheating? Wouldn't you normally be kicked out after one offense?' _wondered Naruto.

"If you let us proctors catch you, you'll be letting both yourself and your team down. If you wish to be a chuunin, you'd better start acting like one, starting now. You have one hour to complete the test. You may begin now." Ibiki finished.

At Ibiki's signal, Naruto flipped over her test without hesitation and read the first question.

_1. Decode the following cipher and summarize its meaning._

The instructions were followed by a block of kanji. Naruto winced. Codes made completely of kanji were much, much harder to decode then those made of katakana or hiragana. Normally, Naruto enjoyed decoding things, but so far she had only worked with relatively simple katakana and hiragana codes. A moment later, Naruto moved on to the next question.

_2. The parabola marked B represents the greatest effective distance the enemy shinobi, A, can throw a shuriken from the top of an 11.4 meter high tree. Calculate the specific features of this scenario and deduce the range of the shuriken's effectiveness, assuming consistent speed for shinobi A's attack operating within the flight arc that the diagram describes. Show your work._

Naruto didn't even bother to look at the diagram. Mathematical equations for throwing weapons had always made zero sense to her. Why the hell did you need an equation anyway? All you needed to do was aim, or, in the case of an enemy attacking you, predict the flight path of the weapon from the way the enemy threw it. Since she had seen it as useless knowledge, Naruto hadn't bothered to pay attention when Iruka was teaching it in class. As such, she was thoroughly screwed.

Naruto sighed and skimmed through the rest of the questions. She found the fifth question to be slightly unusual.

_5. Your team captain has accepted a dangerous mission in unknown territory that is crucial to the success of your village. The area is likely to be covered in dangerous traps. You will be facing an unknown number of enemies. Did your captain make a good decision?_

Naruto answered a resounding "yes".

_6. Using the given encryption code, write a message summarizing that your team has successfully terminated the target, stolen the top-secret scrolls, and is resting in the capital of Nami no Kuni. Assume that you are working with your current team._

The question was slightly harder than it was a first glance. You had to provide your team's identification code, (Naruto's being 10023547) know the capital of Nami no Kuni, and your village's code slang. Not all of these things were common knowledge. A lot of code slang was used in case a message was intercepted; even if it was successfully decoded, half of it wouldn't make much sense. Konoha used "Black Words" as their slang for top-secret scrolls and "eating fried rice" for resting. Naruto quickly drew out the end result, and then frowned. The cipher looked too familiar. Naruto glanced at the first question and frowned. The ciphers looked exactly the same. _'Almost like two puzzle pieces,' _Naruto mused. _'I highly doubt this is an accident.' _She frowned, trying to remember if the proctors had given different tests to genin from other nations. She could remember them shuffling through their pile of papers for a test. Was it possible that the test was a puzzle? Naruto filled in the answer for the first question before moving on to the seventh.

_7. Using the figures shown in the diagram below, calculate how high off the ground the enemy shinobi is. _

The graph showed a parabola with calculations for velocity and speed. Naruto glanced between questions two and seven. Once again, they matched up perfectly. Naruto filled them out again.

The next questions followed the same pattern as the previous ones had. It only took Naruto a couple more minutes to fill out the rest of the questions, except for number ten, which was being withheld until the last fifteen minutes of the exam for some reason or another. When she finished, she flipped her paper over and placed her pencil down on her desk with a barely audible _plink. _

Now that Naruto had nothing to do, she realized that there was a surprising amount of activity going on in the exam room. Kiba's dog was barking something, and there was a bug that looked suspiciously like Shino's kikaichu flying around. Sakura's friend, TenTen, had attached a mirror to the ceiling and was controlling it with wires while using it to get answers for herself and Lee. Lee's Hyuuga teammate and Hinata were using their Byakugan to cheat. Naruto frowned. _'I must have missed something. So many people are cheating…' _

Naruto went over what she knew about the test in her head. The questions were almost impossible to answer unless you were Sakura or figured out the puzzle. There were odd rules to the test. Why would you be kicked out after cheating five times instead of just one? Wait...

Naruto almost slammed her head into her desk when she realized what was going on. _'This isn't necessarily a test of our smarts, but our information-gathering abilities. There are three ways to pass this test: by being a book-smart shinobi like Sakura, cheating sneakily like the majority of people are doing, or figuring out the puzzle, like I did. How interesting…and how completely like the head of T & I Unit.' _

A couple of teams were kicked out. None of them were the teams Naruto had picked out as likely to become problematic later on in the exams. She found that her attention was beginning to wander. At first she began to observe how other people were cheating, but that got old after a while. Out of habit, she pulled a deck of cards out of her pocket and started a game of solitaire.

"13, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ibiki snarled.

Naruto glanced up disinterestedly when her seating number was called. "I'm playing solitaire, Morino-san. I thought that would be obvious," she said, sugar-coating her voice with fake sweetness and innocence.

"I can see that," Ibiki spat out. "What I want to know is why you are indulging in such a habit during _my _test."

The room was so silent you would be able to hear a senbon drop. Naruto could feel her teammates' irritated glares boring into the back of her head. "Well, I was bored, Morino-san. You didn't say we couldn't play card games after we were done with our tests, so I figured it was okay," Naruto smiled.

The increased fear of her fellow genin and Ibiki's increasing anger were completely made up for any trouble she would get into because of this particular stunt.

"Put. Them. Away. _Now,_" Ibiki ordered. His tone left no room for argument.

"Of course, if they bother you so much, Morino-san," Naruto said sweetly as she pocketed her deck of cards, struggling to hold back her laughter.

Ibiki sent her another frosty glare before turning to face the rest of the room. Naruto hid her self-satisfied grin behind her hand. Thankfully, it was only another five minutes until the tenth question was to be released. Naruto waited semi-patiently, this time working on a custom explosive tag under her table.

Finally, Ibiki announced, "Forty-five minutes have passed. It is now time for the tenth question. Prepare yourselves. Just so you know, this last question has a couple of additional rules. First, you must choose whether or not to take this question. If you decide not to take it, you and your teammates will fail this test automatically."

"What?"

"Why would anybody choose not to take that question?"

"Because of the other rule. If you take this question and you answer it incorrectly, you will be permanently banned from the Chuunin Selection Exams.

"_What? _That's ridiculous! There are people here who have taken the exams before and failed!" shouted Kiba.

"It's your bad luck you took the exams this year. I wasn't a chief proctor before. Anybody who has doubts would be smart to refuse to take the question and try again next time. We'll begin now. Those of you who do not wish to take the tenth question, raise your hand now. You will be asked to leave along with your teammates. "

"I-I quit!" somebody said.

"Numbers 111, 113, you fail as well. Leave," a member of T & I ordered.

"Me too!"

'_If this is like the other questions, the answer should be in question number five,' _Naruto rationalized once she had smothered her shock. _'So, this first part of the question is like asking if we'll take a high-risk mission. If the team captain in question five represents a chuunin, a squad leader, what we are trying to become through these exams, doesn't that mean that we should accept this theoretical "dangerous mission"? Yeah. It does.' _

Naruto simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to screw with Ibiki. "Well, the answer is obvious," she drawled, leaning back in her chair. "Since the whole test is a puzzle, this question aligns with the fifth question in the same way that questions number one and six match up. Their answers supply the aligned questions instructions while the instructions supply the answer. Your proctors handed out different tests to genin of different nationalities to provide for the differences in code slang. Questions number two and seven also match, as do three and eight and four and nine. Following this pattern, question five matches up with question ten. Judging by the similarities and differences between the questions and answers, I would say that the tenth question is a question of determination and stubbornness. Would you, as a squad captain, take a dangerous mission where members of your team might die? The answer is yes, of course. If there were not shinobi willing to risk their lives for their village, there would be no point in having shinobi at all. Now, Morino-san, can you tell me with a straight face that I am wrong?"

Once again, the entire room was deathly silent. Naruto could see some people cross-checking their answers, probably seeing if Naruto had been speaking the truth about the puzzle aspect of the test.

"This is a decision that could change the rest of your life. This is your last chance to give up," Ibiki scowled.

"Below courageous, there is nothing," Naruto smirked, quoting Kakashi's words.

The proctors surrounding the examinees nodded slightly. Ibiki smirked before turning fully towards the genin. "All eighty-four of you who are still here, good call. You have just passed the first exam!"

Naruto smirked. _'Knew it…' _

"What do you mean, 'passed'?"

"What about the tenth question?"

"The real tenth question, as 13 said, is the 'take-or-not-take' decision," explained Ibiki, grinning widely.

"Then the other nine questions were a waste of time!"

"No, they served their purpose. Those nine questions were meant to test your information-gathering abilities. There would be those smart enough to answer the questions without cheating. Most of you would have to cheat off of somebody else. Yet, only one of you figured out the puzzle aspect of the test. You either have to be smart, sneaky, or perceptive to pass this test. To help those of you who chose to cheat, I planted four chuunin among you. As for the tenth question…13 did most of the explaining for me," here Ibiki began to take off his bandanna-style hitai-ate to reveal horrible scars from screw holes, burns, and knives. Obvious signs of torture. "When you are captured, you can pay in things taken from you little by little, time and time again. When you go on a mission, there is always a chance of death or capture. A chuunin must overcome their fears and show courage to help chase away the fear of others. This is one of the values all villages look for in their chuunin. Those who only make easy decisions and refuse to gamble their lives for the good of their village are weaklings who do not deserve the title of chuunin! By choosing to accept the tenth question, you all proved that you have the ability to risk your life for your village. If you keep that determination in your mind, I have no doubt that you will go far in these Chuunin Exams. Good luck to all of you!"

Suddenly, a spinning lump of black cloth crashed through the window. Two kunai flew out from the bundle of cloth as it began to unfurl and lodged themselves in the ceiling of the exam room. Naruto sighed, having already identified the person's chakra.

The cloth opened completely to reveal Anko in all her scantily dressed glory. The cloth read: _Newly arrived second chief proctor, Mitiraishi Anko! _

"Drop those smiles! None of you are in a position to celebrate!" Anko grinned. "I am the second chief proctor, Mitiraishi Anko! Time's a-wastin' people, so let's hustle!"

She was met with blank stares from all sides. "Can't you sense the mood in here?" grumbled Ibiki as he moved out from behind Anko's makeshift background.

"…I can't believe you passed eighty-one of them," Anko remarked. "Your test was too easy this year, Ibiki!"

"There were several excellent applicants this time."

"As if. Well, whatever. I'll cut 'em in half by the time my exam's over with! I get worked up just thinking about it," Anko smirked as she licked her lips and shivered slightly. "I'll explain as we move to our next location, so follow me!"

0o0o0o0o0o0

Jutsu List

_Konoha Senpuu_

English: Leaf Hurricane

Rank: C

Description: The user leaps up and sends a spinning kick at their opponent which is followed by a second, lower kick, making it very hard to block both kicks.

_Kage Buyo_

English: Shadow Dance

Rank: C

Description: The shinobi perfectly mimics the flight path of an enemy in the air, allowing for surprise attacks.

The title of this chapter is I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin


	9. Scroll 1, Chapter 9: Stand My Ground

Hi no Ishi, Scroll One: Kannabi

Full Summary: {RTS} As Orochimaru and his allies threaten to topple Konoha, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke are becoming the leaders of their generation. The question is, will they survive the Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen or end up like the previous Sannin – broken? AU diverging at the Chuunin Exams. FemNaru because I can. Team 7-centric.

A/N: Yosh! I would like to thank all of you for reading and reviewing HnIK. I hope you continue to enjoy reading! :D

I don't have any excuses for why this took so long to post. Please forgive me, and thank you for your patience.

Recently a lot of people have reviewed asking about pairings. I will say this now; romance is not going to be a large part of the story at any point. Some of the characters might end up dating and there will be one-sided crushes. It is unlikely that there will be any final pairings, and if there are, they will not affect the plot very much.

Also, I'm working on a collab with misssilivren called _Illusions._It's posted under the account name Red Thread Studios, so please check it out!

Edit: Ceralyn pointed out a pretty big mistake that I made, and I couldn't really leave it ; ; Please forgive me for reposting this.

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed, sadly – I don't own anything.

Glossary

Shi no Mori – Forest of Death

_There are many destinies_

_-Uzumaki Mito_

Chapter Eight: Stand My Ground

"This is training ground 44, also known as the Shi no Mori, the area where the second exam will take place!" Anko cried as she stepped up to stand in front of the fenced-in forest. The whole place gave off an ominous, imposing aura. The tree trunks were as thick as boss summons, and Sasuke had heard tales from Naruto about the animals within the training ground. Even though he had used it in his example for the second exam, he had hoped somewhere in the back of his mind that the exam would be held somewhere else.

Anko pulled a stack of papers out of one of the pockets on her trench coat, smiled that creepy smile of hers, and said, "Before I start the second exam, I need you to sign these. They're consent forms. This way, when people start dying, it's not my fault. You wouldn't want me to get in trouble, would you? I'll pass out these forms and then start explaining the second exam. Once you've filled in the forms, turn them in at the booth to my left with the rest of your team."

Anko then stepped forward and handed the stack of papers to the genin closest to her before pulling out a scroll and unfurling it to reveal a basic map of the Shi no Mori. The genin took one form and passed it on to the shinobi beside him.

"Now, about the exam. Let's start with the basic terrain of the area. Training ground 44 is surrounded by a circular perimeter of fencing interrupted by exactly forty-four locked gates. A river runs through the center of the training ground, but the rest of it is heavily forested land. In the center is a tower about ten kilometers from the gates. It is within this area that you will undergo your exam. To put it simply, this will be a fight-to-the-death version of capture-the-flag – or capture-the-scroll, in this case," explained Anko.

"Scroll..?" a genin from Taki frowned.

Anko pulled two more scrolls out of her pocket before she spoke again. One had a yellow border and the kanji 'heaven' written on it. The other had a black border and was emblazoned with 'earth'. "Yep! There's a Heaven Scroll and an Earth Scroll. There are eighty-four of you here, so that's twenty-eight teams. Fourteen teams will receive an Earth Scroll when you turn in your forms. The other fourteen will get an Earth Scroll. Your mission is to keep your hands on your own scroll and get the matching scroll from another team through any means necessary."

"So in other words, at least half of us – the fourteen teams who have their scrolls stolen – will fail," Sakura muttered, her eyes narrowing.

"Exactly! And there's a time limit too. You have one hundred and twenty hours to complete this exam from the moment you enter the gates, or exactly five days," chirped Anko.

"Five days!" Ino squawked, eyes widening in surprise.

"What are we supposed to eat?" Chouji demanded frantically.

"That's your problem," Anko said disinterestedly. "The forest is full of food. Of course, there's also man-eating plants and tigers the size of large houses, but hey. There's no way fourteen teams will pass this test. Many will fail due to the harsh environment, hunger, or thirst. You'll be surrounded by enemies at all times, so you'll always have to watch your back. There will be more deaths than those that come from battles over the scrolls.

"I'll explain how you can be disqualified. It's pretty simple. The teams that fail to reach the tower with both scrolls are out. The same goes for any team that reaches the tower with both scrolls but contains a member that is dead or too injured to fight. If you look in the scrolls before you reach the tower, you will fail this exam. None of you will be allowed to leave the forest before the five days are up. No acceptations. Oh, and before I forget, you're going to have to leave behind any tools or items you brought with you."

It took a moment for Anko's last sentence to sink in. When Sasuke finally wrapped his mind around her words, he let a deep scowl settle over his face. They would be in extremely hostile territory for up to five days with no supplies to speak of.

"Wait, what do you mean we're going to have to leave behind our tools?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"Any weapons or other items such as food, scrolls, or poisons will be left with us for the duration of this exam. They will be returned when the exam is over – if you survive, anyway," Anko drawled. "Give them to the proctors manning the scroll booth. They will search you if they suspect you're hiding anything. You can go get your scrolls now."

Sasuke sighed and allowed himself to slouch slightly in his sitting position as he thought through the position he and his team were stuck in. The proctors behind the scroll booth had unrolled a curtain to hide which scroll each team got and who was carrying it. _'We're most likely equally determined to pass this exam. Depending on the strength of the other teams, this could turn into a bloodbath…'_he realized. _'We need to finish this exam as fast as possible in order to minimize our chance of dehydration.'_

"Sasuke-kun, it's time to turn in our forms," Sakura said as she walked up from behind Sasuke. When the Uchiha turned to look at her, he saw she was carrying her sheathed swords and had wrapped the white cloth she used as a holster around her hips in a makeshift sash. A moment later, Naruto ghosted up to them, silent as always.

Sasuke nodded to Sakura and got up. _/Who carry?/_he signed.

_/Me. Fastest,/_Naruto replied.

Sasuke nodded his acceptance while Sakura signed a quick _/Yes./_That decided, the trio walked up to the scroll both. All three of them passed in their forms. One of the two proctors wordlessly handed Naruto a Heaven Scroll when she signaled that she would be the one carrying it.

"Your supplies," the other said as he pulled out a storage scroll marked "Konoha Team 7".

All three of them unstrapped their kunai and shuriken holsters as well as their standard-issue pouches and placed them on the table. Sakura forfeited her swords after a second of hesitation. Naruto, however, took her trench coat off and hung it upside-down overtop of the table part of the booth. An assortment of scrolls, senbon, seal tags, poison bombs, and shinobi wire cascaded out of the pockets. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the large pile that was left when Naruto was done. The blonde Uzumaki was quite literally armed to the teeth, her own miniature shinobi supplies store.

The proctor with the storage scroll blinked once in what was probably surprise at just how much Team 7 carried with them. Although, if he unsealed the twenty-odd storage scrolls the three of them carried, the pile on the table would probably double, if not triple. Twenty-five seconds later, all of the tools were sealed within a scroll that was tucked under the table.

As Team 7 exited the booth, another proctor came up to them. "I'll lead you to your gate," he explained. "Please follow me."

All three of the genin exchanged slightly nervous glances. Naruto shrugged, communicating several sentences with that simple motion. _We don't have much choice. We've dug our graves, so to speak. Now we have to lie in them._Sasuke had to agree with her. When Sakura gave a small smile, Sasuke knew she had understood Naruto's message as well.

They were lead to gate 12. Unfortunately, it was nowhere near the river, so they couldn't use that as an easy guide. There was nothing near the gate except for the giant trees that populated the Shi no Mori. The teams had been spread out so that none of them were right next to each other. There was nothing ideal about the situation, which was probably exactly how Anko and the rest of the proctors had designed it.

The proctor that had led Team 7 to their gate pulled up his sleeve and glanced at the watch that had been hidden there. He nodded once to himself before going up to the gate and unlocking it. "You can enter the forest in one minute exactly," he said.

Sasuke tensed in preparation. He could feel Sakura and Naruto doing the same beside him. The next sixty seconds seemed to inch by at the rate of a snail. The exams had him and his teammates much tenser than usual, that much was easy to tell – Kakashi had trained all of them to stay relaxed in all but the most dangerous situations. Not only did it serve as a psychological weapon against their opponents, it let them use a lot less energy. It was one of the tricks Kakashi had learned in his ANBU years, according to Naruto and the files she brought with her to their team meetings on many occasions.

"You may go in now," the proctor said as he finally yanked the gate open.

Team 7 practically flew past him and into the trees of the Shi no Mori. Naruto quickly sealed their Heaven Scroll within a small storage seal tattooed into the underside of her forearm. Sasuke's hands began to flow through the code that had become familiar to him over the past months. _/Code. Enemies surrounding./_

_/Split up,/_Sakura suggested. _/Each attack one team. Meet at tower. One at least will get scroll. Team up if none get scroll. Look for each other if we not show up in two hours./_

_/Agree,/_Naruto signed.

Sasuke nodded and veered to the left. Sakura dropped to the ground and took a route to the right. Naruto performed a quick _Kuchiyose_and summoned a large green-feathered falcon to ride on. Once they had left Sasuke's range of sight, he looked forward and activated his Sharingan to make sure he wouldn't be caught in a genjutsu.

Sasuke was careful not to let his guard down even as he forced himself to relax. Enemies could be upon him at any moment, and although he was confident he could take some if not most of the participating teams by himself, there was a possibility that he could run into Lee's team or one of similar strength. If that happened, he would not be able to defeat them by himself. Even if he had Naruto and Sakura with him, they would be hard-pressed to beat Lee's team.

Suddenly, a faint trace of chakra entered Sasuke's Sharingan-enhanced vision. The Uchiha stopped immediately and searched the area with all of his senses to make sure somebody hadn't managed to sneak up on him. He couldn't hear anything, but that didn't mean much; his ears were not hypersensitive like Kakashi's. Since he couldn't hear anything, it was unlikely that the chakra was coming from a fight. And since nobody was near the chakra, it wasn't just somebody passing through. So that meant that the chakra came from a genjutsu, which was no danger to him as long as he had the Sharingan activated. Sasuke leaped through the trees, following the flow of the genjutsu's chakra back to its creator.

It didn't take long for Sasuke to find the person behind the genjutsu. It was a group of Ame-nin dressed in odd beige bodysuits. The genjutsu would block them from sight from any normal pair of eyes, but Sasuke's eyes weren't normal by a long shot. Sasuke laid down on the branch and edged forward so that he was lying just over the three Ame-nin.

"Mubi, you take the scroll," said one of the Ame-nin as he handed an Earth Scroll to his black-haired teammate. Mubi nodded and used some chakra to stick the scroll to his leg, just under the cover of his pants.

"Let's split up and meet back here in an hour," ordered Mubi. His two teammates nodded and disappeared. Mubi took off in a different direction less than a second later.

'_Bingo,'_Sasuke thought with a smirk as his hands began to blur through seals. "_Doton: Ishikawa no Jutsu_!" the Uchiha whispered.

The ground beneath Mubi's feet immediately began to soften into a pit of quicksand. Surprisingly, the Ame-nin didn't show any signs of shock or panic and instead raised one hand to his lips and let out a shrill whistle.

Sasuke scowled as he jumped down from the branch he had been standing on. _'Some sort of signal, maybe?'_he wondered.

Seconds later, Mubi sunk down into the ground. Sasuke immediately turned his gaze to the ground and wasn't surprised to see the vague imprint of a human moving around underground. He was about to perform another Doton ninjutsu that would reveal Mubi, but he was interrupted by the soft thuds of the other two Ame-nin landing behind him. Sasuke looked over his shoulder only to see that the two Ame-nin were illusions, albeit well-crafted ones.

The two illusory clones charged Sasuke. _'Pointless,'_noted Sasuke, _'they're just illusions.'_Sasuke only tilted his head to the side out of reflex to avoid the wooden kunai one of the illusions threw at him. His eyes widened in shock when he felt something wet trickle down his cheek. He swiped his hand across his face as he lept backwards. When Sasuke looked at it, his fingertips were stained with blood. _'So the kunai was real…'_

Sasuke glanced around for some sort of clue as to how a kunai from an illusion had damaged him. The scratch on his cheek was not fake, so that meant that somehow the creators of the illusions had injured him.

Sasuke glanced around, searching for any sort of unnatural chakra signature while carefully avoiding the handmade knives that the illusions were throwing. A blurry outline of a vaguely human-shaped chakra signature underneath one of the clones caught Sasuke's eye. He shifted his eyes to the earth beneath the second and third clones only to find that those originals were also hiding underneath their copies. After that, it was a relatively simple matter to figure out that the Ame-nin were timing their attacks with the illusions', making it appear that the illusions had the ability to physically harm the victim.

"Tsk," Sasuke muttered under his breath. "I don't have time to play your stupid games." Sasuke knelt down and turned towards the area where Mubi was hidden, completing a short sequence of hand seals. "_Doton: Tatakikowasu__._"

The ground in front of Sasuke raised a couple of inches before splitting apart into four separate blocks of earth. The whole process did not take much more than nine or ten seconds. It took only a couple seconds longer then that for Sasuke to dive into one of the fissures and land behind Mubi. A quick chop to the neck and the Ame-nin was out cold. The scroll tumbled out of Mubi's pants and was quickly snatched up by Sasuke. The Uchiha decided not to waste any more time and pushed some chakra into his legs and made his way to the tower.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura stopped immediately when three Kusa-nin entered her line of vision. They varied greatly in height, as the longest was easily as tall as Kakashi while the shortest was smaller than Naruto, which was saying something. They all wore similar attire; purple, rope-like belts, a conical straw hat with a tag hanging off of it, a black bodysuit, and some sort of robe over top of that.

Sakura had decided that they would be the team she would attack. She grimaced, already missing her shinobi tools. A flash tag would have been very useful. But she did have one technique in her arsenal that would be very useful right now.

Sakura sped up so that she was a reasonable distance ahead of the Kusa team. Then she began to flip through hand seals and muttered, "_Katon: Kaen Bakahatsu no Jutsu_."

The Haruno channeled a small amount of chakra into her hand before placing it on the branch she was standing on. She then began to systematically do the same to the surrounding trees, insuring that the Kusa team would be in for a nasty surprise when they reached her position. Even thought the technique had taken a lot of chakra for somebody with her reserves, it would assure that she wouldn't have to do much else to get the scroll. Sakura jumped to a safe position and leaned against the tree. She didn't have to wait long.

"What the hell?" somebody shouted. A moment later, a brilliant flash of orange light and the satisfying sound of an explosion reached Sakura's senses. _'Looks like the party's started,'_she thought.

_Katon: Kaen Bakahatsu no Jutsu_ created landmines in whatever the user touched. Sakura had quite literally turned the whole area into a deathtrap. Sakura leaped through the trees towards the location of the explosion, careful not to step on trees that she had rigged.

"Han!" somebody cried out just as the Kusa team came into Sakura's line of vision. One of them was dead, one was badly burnt, and the last had a broken leg. The team's Heaven Scroll was flying through the air, about to land on a branch that was burning viciously. Sakura decided not to let a good scroll go to waste. If Naruto somehow lost theirs, it would be good to have a spare. Sakura jumped just over the branch and snatched the scroll out of the air, just barely dodging the tongues of flame that reached for the skirt of her dress.

She took one last glance of the Kusa team and regretted it. They were surrounded almost completely by flames. They wouldn't be able to escape in their current state. They would die by Sakura's landmines. She gulped nervously and forced the image out of her mind. Death was an inevitable part of shinobi life, she reminded herself. However, the thought of those three shinobi dying over a scroll her team might not need made her feel nauseous.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto dismissed her falcon summon when she heard the near-silent conversation of three shinobi.

"But Gaara-!" a female pleaded.

"No!" a male snarled back. "I have not yet been sated!"

Naruto's eyebrows rose at the odd response. _'What the hell is going on here?'_she wondered as she soundlessly slunk through the shadows towards the voices.

Three Suna genin crouched on the ground. One was the red-haired male Naruto had sat next to during the first exams. Now that he was with his teammates, she recognized him as Gaara, one of the people she had picked out as a threat simply from the fact that he had, apparently, never been injured on a mission.

Across from him was Temari, his older sister and teammate. She had sandy blonde hair pulled back into four short ponytails. The blonde Suna kunoichi was wearing a short, shoulder less light purple dress over a steel net bodysuit while her hitai-ate was tied around her neck. Her dark green eyes were wide with what was probably a mixture of fear and worry.

A little ways away from them stood Kankurou, Gaara's older brother. Dark purple makeup was painted across his face for some reason or another. He wore a hooded black jumpsuit that had what looked suspiciously like cat ears built into the design. His hitai-ate was attached to the hood as well. He was shifting nervously from foot to foot and his eyes were moving around frantically. It was obvious that he'd much rather be somewhere else.

Suddenly, a violent, vicious chakra flared sharply from within Gaara. An image of a monstrous golden tanuki rose unbidden in Naruto's mind.

Almost simultaneously, Kyuubi broke through Naruto's mental block and roared, _'Jump, you stupid piece of shit!'_

Naruto did exactly as commanded when she felt the strange chakra coming from Gaara lash out at her. She just barely managed to avoid the massive wave of sand that could have easily crushed her. As it was, it smashed through the tree Naruto had been standing on, forcing her to jump into the safety of another tree._'What the fuck?'_she thought as she dodged another wave of sand and landed in yet another tree.

Naruto looked down at the trio of Suna-nin and was met by pale, sea foam-green eyes. They were cold, angry, bitter…and lonely. They were the eyes that had experienced the true pain of loneliness, eyes that recognized that pain as the greatest in the world, eyes that wished to destroy that which had sent them into that hell.

Naruto jerked backward, away from the familiar gaze that she had seen so many times in the mirror.

Fuck.

This was bad.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Jutsu List

_Doton: Ishikawa no Jutsu_

English: Earth Release: Stone River Technique

Rank: C

Description: After the hand seals are completed or the user's chakra is molded properly, the user sends their chakra to a specific area of ground and turns the area into a mud pit. The size of the affected area determines the chakra necessary.

_Katon: Kaen Bakahatsu no Jutsu_

Fire Release: Flame Explosion Technique

Rank: C

Description: After the hand seals are finished, when the user channels their chakra into their hands, anything they touch will have a chakra mine embedded in it. It lasts for three minutes before the hand seals have to be preformed again.

_Doton: Dochuu Eigyo no Jutsu_

Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique

Rank: C

Description: Once the hand seals are completed, the user can travel through ground or stone as if it was water.

_Doton: Tatakikowasu no Jutsu_

Earth Release: Shatter Technique

Rank: C

Description: The user places their hands on the ground after completing the proper hand seals. The earth will split apart into separate sections. The sections may become unstable or otherwise change depending on the terrain of the area.

The title of this chapter is Stand My Ground by Within Temptation.


End file.
